Randolph, VT. – June 27, 1943

Randolph, Vermont – June 27, 1943   

B-17 “Flying Fortress”
U.S. Air Force Photo

On June 27, 1943, a B-17 Flying Fortress, (Ser. No. 42-30417), with ten crewmen aboard, was flying from Nebraska to Maine.  From Maine it would fly overseas.  While the aircraft was passing over Vermont, it developed severe engine trouble  and could not stay airborne.  The pilot ordered the crew to bail out, but two of the crew members, the co-pilot and tail gunner, elected to remain aboard and try to assist the pilot in making an emergency landing.  The pilot brought the plane in towards Fish Hill where it struck a large tree and  began strewing pieces, before crashing on the farm of Owen Seymour, killing all three men aboard.  Those who bailed out landed safely.

     The dead were identified as:

     Pilot: Lieutenant Leonard L. Bolon, 21, of Iowa. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/137831291/leonard-l-bolon 

   Co-Pilot: Lieutenant Harry A. Turner

   Tail Gunner: Staff Sergeant Donald E. Burgan 

   In 1991 a memorial plaque was erected near the crash site by local citizens to honor the crew, and every year a service is held at the site on Memorial Day.    

     Artifacts from the crash site have been recovered and turned over to the Randolph Historical Society.  

     Sources:

     The Sun, “Vermont Man Solves Mystery of 1943 B-17 Crash”, June 23, 2011. https://suncommunitynews.com/news/26892/vermont-man-solves-mystery-of-1943-b-17-crash/

     Vermonter.com, The Herald, “From The Archives: B-17 Plane Crashes In Randolph”, July 12, 2018.  

     Aviation Safety Network

 

 

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