On February 25, 1944, a B-17G bomber from the Grand Island
Army Air Field crashed half a
mile east of here on the Langenheder farm, killing nine aboard.
The Grand Island base served
as a training location for aircrews prior to their leaving for
overseas. The B-17 was on a
training flight in the early morning hours, crashing shortly after
takeoff and sliding in the
field before impacting a berm next to an irrigation ditch and
exploding.
Losing their lives were 2nd Lt. John T. McMillen, Cleveland,
OH; 2nd Lt. Kenneth E. Pierce,
Brownsville, VT; F/O Alfred R. Flock, Boise, ID; S/Sgt. Glen M.
Cox, Newport, KY; S/Sgt.
Donald J. Vitale, Crockett, CA; Sgt. John M. Robertson, Atlanta,
GA; Sgt. Stanley S. Sala,
Cohoes, CA; Sgt. Lloyd D. McNeil, Somers, IA; and Sgt. Edward
Machos, Manchester, NH.
Pilot 1st Lt. Howard T. Talbert was the lone survivor.
This marker memorializes the more than 15,500 Army Air Forces
airmen who died in nearly
6,350 air crash training accidents in the U.S. during World War
II.
Eric O'Neill, Eagle Scout Project
Hall County Historical Society
Nebraska State Historical Society, 2012
5537 St. Paul Road, Grand Island
Hall County
Marker 497