Ottawa County news. (Port Clinton, Ohio) 1931-1956, 1951-02-02
THRONCS DRAWN
TO PRE-DAWN
TRAGEDY sun.

The bodies OF five military
and naval personnel who
died in a crash of a twin-en-
CINE Beechcraft near Rymer
road at $50 a. m. Sunday,
were shipped to the homes OF
survivors by the Gerner &
Wolf Mortuary Sunday night.
Hundreds of motorists Wis
tied the crash vicinity all day
Sunday.
The victims, all of whom died
instantly, were identied by Sheriff
Merlan Budd as Maj. w. 7. Matti-
son, Capt. H. H. Manning and
Capt. L. R. Taylor, of the ROTC
staff, Howard University, Wash
ington, D. c., and Tech. Sgt. F. w.
Boice, stationed at Washington,
and C. D. Kafader, electricians
mate, first class, of Los Angeles,
Calf.
The plane was enroute from
Selfridge Field, Mich, to Boiling
Field, Washington. The three
officers aboard the ill-fated plane,
had formerly been stationed at
Lockbourne Air Base in Columbus.
Had Attended Funeral
Maj. Matison was returning from
Detroit where he had gone to at
tend funeral services for his bro
ther, Ernie, it was reported by his
father-in-law, N. B. Allen, secre-
tary of the Columbus Urban
League.
A number OF apple trees were
destroyed by the felled plane
where it crashed in the orchard
of George Schumacher, which is
eight miles west of Port Clinton.
Remnants of the plane were
merely masses of twisted metal
The craft was literally ripped to
pieces.
A committee of Investigators
arrived SUNDAY afternoon to view
the scene. No report as to the
cause has been issued yet.
Sounded Like Bomb
Wilson st. Clair, whose home is
within sight of the crash site, tolo
the NEWS that he thought bomb
had struck his house when the
plane crashed.
He said he and his wife were
startled by a terrific roar which
shook the beams in their house. :
Rushing to a window they saw
dark shape hurting northWaro
over the apple orchard. 1t seemed
to be circling when seconc
later they heard an explosion tha
sounded like a giant bomb going
off.
St. Clair estimated that the
plane must have been less thar
100 feet in the air when i
passed over his house, adding, ;"
was sure it had taken off part o.
my roof until | ran out to check.
He said the house trembled Wher
the plane struck the ground. Wis
ability from the St. Clair home
was practically zero few yards
away, he said.
St. Clair, with neighbor, wa
the first to arrive at the crasl
scene. There was no fire or smoke
emitting from the debris which
was spread over a 50-foot area
Three bodies lay sprawled in th'
snow, clear of the wreckage, ant
two other victims were imprls
oned in the crushed cabin. Al
had presumably died instantly
Engine parts were imbedded II
the frozen ground.
Auxiliary Police On Duty
Auxiliary police alerted unde
the new Civil Defense program
and directed by Port Clinic
American Legionnaires had II
first emergency action in pr
dawn guard duty on Rymer roa
at the entrance of the apple o
chard where the crash occurred
The auxiliary police asslste
state patrolmen in keeping OF
lockers from approaching With
500 feet of the wreckage, part
which could be observed from tn
road.
Newsmen and Photographic
were barred from entering the {
chard, as was everyone else, wi
the exception of police, milital
personnel and an Army chaplai
With the mercury flirting arour
10 degrees, and cold northea
wind sweeping snow blizzal
off the lake, the military and ci