Deer Mountain, Maine – July 11, 1944
B-17G “Flying Fortress”
U.S. Air Force Photo
On July 11, 1944, a B-17 “Flying Fortress”, (Ser. No. 43-38023), with ten crewmen aboard left Kearney Army Air Field in Nebraska for a cross-country flight to Dow Army Air Field in Bangor, Maine. The purpose of the flight was to land in Maine before proceeding overseas for combat duty.
As the aircraft came into the New England area in encountered bad weather, with low visibility, and low cloud cover. The last radio transmission from the plane was received by the control tower at Grenier Army Air Field in Manchester, New Hampshire at 11:55 a.m. At some point afterwards the plane crashed into Deer Mountain in the unincorporated area of North Oxford, Maine.
When the aircraft failed to arrive at Dow a search was instituted, and when searchers reached the crash site they found all ten crewmen deceased.
The crew were identified as:
Pilot: 2nd Lt. John T. Cast, (27) of Springfield, Ohio. He’s buried at St. Bernard Cemetery in Springfield, OH. He was survived by his wife and five month old son. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/101536641/john-t-cast
Co-pilot: 2nd Lt. John W. Drake, (21) from Port Arthur, Texas. He buried in Greenlawn Memorial Park, Groves, Texas. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31220417/john-wilkes-drake
Navigator: 2nd Lt. William H. Hudgens, Jr., of Flagstaff, Arizona. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/187427800/william-humphrey-hudgens
Bombardier: 2nd Lt. Robert S. Talley, (26) of San Angelo, Texas. He’s buried in Fairview Cemetery in Pampa, Texas. He was survived by his wife. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/140706133/robert-s-talley
Engineer: Staff Sgt. Wayne D. McCavran, of Seymour, Iowa.
Radio Operator: Sgt. Cecil Leon Murphy, (21) of Falls City, Nebraska. He’s buried in Falls City Cemetery, Falls City, Neb. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86373223/cecil-leon-murphy
Gunner: Cpl. John H. Jones, Jr., of Buffalo, New York. He was survived by his wife.
Gunner: Sgt. Clarence Marvin Waln, (22), of Ten Sleep, Wyoming. He’s buried in Ten Sleep Cemetery. He would have been 22 on July 30th. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/87171593/clarence-marvin-waln
Gunner: Sgt. Gerald V. Biddle, (23) of East Orange, New Jersey. He’s buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Akron, Ohio. he was survived by his wife. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10196746/gerald-vincent-biddle
Armor Gunner: Sgt. James A. Benson, (21), of Clark, South Dakota. He’s buried in Clark Center Cemetery, Clark, S.D. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/132826662/james-a-benson
Sources:
The Nashua Telegram, “Army Squads Search Woods For Wreckage Of Fortress”, July 14, 1944
www.findagrave.com
