This and That

Bomber crash of 1942

By Helen Kaverman, The Delphos Herald
Published:  Monday, April 28, 2008 (4 months ago)
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Back in the 40s, whenever we heard the sound of an airplane, we yelled, “Airplane! Airplane!” and ran outside to take a look.
Mary Sergant remembers that September Saturday in 1942 when she heard this plane go over the house. She was upstairs and ran to the window to get a look.
It was always exciting to see an airplane and this one was pretty low. Soon after, they heard the twin-engine bomber crash in a field about three miles east of their home near Fort Jennings.
This happened about noon on Saturday, Sept. 26. The bomber was based out of  Baer Field near Fort Wayne. Seven young airmen lost their lives in the crash.
Eye witnesses to the crash reported seeing the plane circle the area a few minutes before it crashed to the ground. It immediately burst into flames and exploded. The bomber crashed on the farms of Anthony Klausing and James Thomas.
Ed Hoersten, who lived on the farm about a half mile north watched the bomber fall and immediately called the Fort Jennings telephone operator to summon the sheriff and other authorities. This was before the day of automatic dial and 911 calls.
Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Garberson watched from their home about a 1/2 mile south of the crash. Garberson rushed to the scene. He said there was no sign of life and bodies and plane parts were scattered about the field and pasture.
Sheriff Arnold Potta and Deputy Ralph Gackle, together with Putnam County Coroner Dr. C.W. Miller rushed to the scene. They were assisted by state highway patrolmen from the area. They roped off the fields in which the scattered wreckage lay and blocked off the township road that ran past the scene.
Eleven-year-old Vernon Askins, living nearby, said he heard the plane’s motors in a rising and falling roar and saw it crash and explode.
Residents for several miles around reported hearing the explosion and some said it shook their homes. The sound was deafening.
A contingent of Army personnel arrived at about 3:30 p.m. and the crash truck from an Army airfield, with crew and soldiers, arrived the next day.
The crash left a crater in the field. Traffic in the neighborhood was bumper to bumper on the weekend following the accident.
Victims of the crash were 2nd Lt. E.I. Newton, pilot, Kansas City, Mo.; 2nd Lt. Fred Rice, co-pilot, Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Tech Sgt. A.J. Lamison, Three Springs, Penn.; Staff Sgt. P.J. Nelligan, Santa Rosa, Calif.; privates O.R. Colestock of South Dakota and A.A. Widlt of Oregon; and R.D. Risepter of Iowa.
The destination of the plane was never revealed to anyone by the Army officials.

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