Evening star., 1946-03-20
8 Seryicemen Dead
In California Crashes
OF Two Army Planes
BY the Associofsd Press

crashes OF two big Army planes
in the mountains of Northern
California yesterday took death
toll of 33 Army and Navy men,
and ground crews labored in
difficult terrain today to recover
the bodies Of the victims.
Twenty-three bodies, some Of
them buried several feet in snow
had been found early today at the
scene of CAT crash in the Sierra
Nevada range, mile from the
ghost town of Hobart Mills and
Z miles from Truckee, Calf. Three
others listed on the flight from
Stockton, Calf, bound for Ogden
Utah, were believed in the yet in
accessible flight-control compart-
ment of the wreckage.
Among those aboard the Cat was
1t. Col. Clyde M. Taylor, 56, Of 615
Alabama avenue Sc, who was serv-
ing as acting inspector general at
Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio.
Push Toward B-2S Wreckage.
A ground squad pushed toward
the wreckage of a B-29 which
crashed with seven crewmen into
the top Of a 3,820-foot peak near
Livermore, 30 miles southeast of
San Francisco. The bomber came
from Hickam Field, Honolulu. It's
radio reported engine trouble sew
eral hours before the plane plum
meted to earth 10 feet from the
top of the peak.
Witnesses said they saw the CAT
explode in air, and Capt. Harold
Sinner, commanding the Army air
base at Reno, New, said the wreck
age indicated wing, which had not
been found, was blown of before the
crash. The crash occurred about
11:45 am. =.
Snow piled as high as IL feet in
drifts. Army workers and volun-
teers who reached the CAT wreck
age by snow1nobile toiled through
the night by campfire and flashlight
in continuing snow to recover the
frozen bodies, some of which were
severely mangled.
Emmet and Morris Tucker, broth
ers from Grass Valley, Calf, volun-
teered their caterpillar-driven ski
mobile for the tortuous trip from
Hobart Mills to the wreck and
brought down the first five bodies to
a temporary morgue set up in an
abandoned Hobart Mills garage.
Snowplows were pushing through
a road during the night to get Army
trucks to the scene. Temporary
headquarters for the operations were
established at the home of Mr.. and
Mrs. Clair Heater, the only family
living in Hobart Mills.
Probers Head Toward Scene.
Workers marked holes from which
bodies were dug from the snow, and
an Army investigation board headed
toward the scene from Truckee this
morning.
The Army readied 13-ton
wrecker for movement up the noun
tain when the road Is cleared to lift
the wrecked fuselage In hopes of re-
trieving the three bodies believed in
the control room.
Plane parts were strewn over the
rugged mountain for several hun
dred feet, with the fuselage and tail
section 200 feet apart. The twin
engined CAT did not burn.
The four-engined R-29 had been
missing since early yesterday. A
private plane pilot reported discov-
cry Of the wreckage late yesterday |
after an extensive search had been
ordered. The bomber pilot had re-
ported his engines were cutting up
as he approached the mainland and
last radio contact with the ground
was made at 2:05 am.
Capt. j. M. Clark of the 1503d
Army Air Forces base unit, flying a
transport plane, spotted the wreck
age at Sis pm. and identified the
bomber by its number.
An Army search and rescue party
reached the general area where its
leaders thought the wreck of the
bomber would be located and estab-
lished search headquarters at a
mountain cabin.
From the cabin the searchers
split into parties hunting in fog and
light rain in several directions.
The group, travelling by jeeps and
embulances, assembled over q treach-
erous mountain road to the cabin,
and one ambulance overturned. No
one was reported injured.
List Of C-47 Victims. j
At Stockton the Army announced
the names of those aboard the CAT,
in addition to Col. Taylor. as fol-
lows:
MN sc Lyle c. Dykes, Morrill,,
Nebr.
Ma 1/s Richard O. Ehlers, Mid
way, Utah.
Capt. Bonald A. Bride. Cincinnati,
Ohio.
S &c Raymond L. Schneider,
Cuero, Tex.
1t. Comdr. L. S. Stark, Menlo
Park, Calf.
ON SIC Floyd R. sundgren, salina,
Kans.
First 1t. Erwin P. Cue, McMinn-
vile, Greg.
sk/3c Maurice L. Bose, Terre
Haute, Ind.
vac Charles r. Brannss, Chicago.
Pvt. Glenn p. Dickerson, Chat
tanooga, Tenn.
Corpl. william T. Woodhouse,
Yardley, Pa.
sac Pasqual Iuluicci, Brooklyn,
N. Y.
Monm nc Melvin S. Van Ripper,
Vestal, N. Y.
1t. Frank w. Davis, Canton, Tex.
Ensign Gino G. Caletti, Colusa,
Calf.
Etm/3c Stephen r. Kirsch, Cedar
hurst, Long Island.
S/1c Gerald P. Udell, Philadelphia.
QMt3c Robert A. MCGEE, Phila-
delphia.
1t. q. g. John G. Shaw, Newark,
N. j.
1st 1t. James E. Milton, Stockton.
I'd 1t. Richard F. Simpson, Thom-
aston, Ga.
Capt. Richard K. Young, pilot,
Stockton. /
1St. 1t YnaIis N nlesinc co-nilot |