The commander of the 439th Maintenance Group at Westover Reserve Base, Col. Jordan Murphy, said the base has contnued its role as a major airlift hub since World War II, one of the reasons the B-17 that crashed was attempting to land there in 1946. (Dave Canton/TNS)
HOLYOKE, Mass. (Tribune News Service) — Saturday morning broke hot and muggy, not unlike the day 78 years ago when 25 men climbed about a converted B-17 bomber to fly from Greenland to New York after the end of World War II. But the plane never made it.
Fast forward 78 years and nearly 100 people, including family members who never met those killed, sat at a memorial on that side of Mount Tom, the exact place where that plane crashed, just to remember.
“B-17 crews in World War II were often incredibly young,” said Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia Saturday morning. “They were mostly between the ages of 18 to 24. The pilot was 24 and his copilot was 23. The navigator was only 20 years old. They used to say that you grew up early in a B-17.”
Garcia said he thought of how those on board the plane must have felt as they prepared to land in Chicopee.
“I can only think as that plane entered Massachusetts airspace, their spirits were extremely high. They came from all over, but they were united in their service to the country. They were united in their eagerness to get home to their families, In the end, they are united in tragedy. We here today are united in gratitude. Also, in the firm resolve that the service and sacrifice of those young men will not be forgotten.”
On the night of July 9, 1946, that plane carrying 25 people was making its approach to Westover Field when crashed into the side of Mount Tom, killing all aboard. They were coming home after serving at Coast Guard and Air Corps facilities that made it safe for wartime flights to Europe over the North Atlantic Ocean. The plane was to make a stop at Chicopee before flying on. Their job was done and the men on board thought they were going home, finally. At about 10:21 p.m., they became more casualties of a long war. Most of them were barely out of their teens — some weren’t.
A large crown, including the elderly to toddlers, packed the memorial site on Mount Tom to remember the 25 men killed in 1946 when B-17 crashed into the side of the mountain. (Dave Canton/TNS)
Over the years, stories about the crash faded into local folklore. Few were sure where the plane crashed or how many people were in it. Some completely forgot about the crash altogether.
Fast forward 50 years and a group of area veterans put together a fundraising effort to place a memorial at the site of the crash. In 1996, the memorial stone was dedicated and a small site carved out from the rock and brush of the mountainside along an access road.
Each year, the Mount Tom Memorial Committee holds a special service to remember those killed. An ever-growing crowd of people, most shuttled up the side of the mountain in Civil Air Patrol vans, some walking the old roadway, take up their places in the small memorial site on a day close to the July 9 anniversary, something Army Reserve Major and State Sen. John Velis, D-Westfield, said he appreciates that people take the time to remember.
“I don’t think we don’t talk about it enough in the commonwealth or as a nation, we need to talk about sacrifice more,” he said. “As crazy as the world is right now — and it’s crazy — what allows me to go to sleep at night is that young men and young women are still raising their hands to serve their country.”
Velis said he knew how those men on the B-17 felt that night. He has flown in some of those return flights after he served two tours in Afghanistan.
“I can tell you that your mind is, ‘I can’t wait to see my family. I can’t wait to do those things I haven’t done in so long.’ And the fact that they were so close,” he said, holding his fingers apart just a fraction of an inch. “The young wives, young kids at Westover waiting for them, moms and dads. Those are the sacrifices we honor here today.”
Nearly 100 people made their way up the side of Mount Tom to pay respects to the 25 servicemen killed when a B-17 crashed into he side of the mountain in 1946. (Dave Canton/TNS)
Former Northampton Veterans Services Coordinator Bob Cahillane is one of the original veterans who started the memorial fundraising, and now at 87 years old, he said he appreciates that more and more people come to the ceremony each year.
“It makes me feel patriotic,” he said Saturday. “People make the effort to come here and it is not an easy place to get to. It takes a lot of gumption, to not only remember these men in this terrible plane crash but also the men and women who are serving today. I think that is the other half of the coin, that people need to be reminded about those serving today. What we honor here today could happen at any time.”
At Saturday’s memorial were representatives of Westover, now called Reserve Base, and its role in the 1946 tragedy. Col. Jordan Murphy is the commander of the Westover 439th Airlift Maintenance Group. He said the role of the Westover of 1946 is not unlike the role it plays now.
“(This memorial) recalls the importance of what Westover has done over the 80 years. The planned stop-over at the base was only one of several events planned that day for Westover, trying to get our folks home from the war in Europe immediately following the end of the war,” he said. “Westover was ... a major strategic airlift hub for moving passengers and cargoes outside the United States. Today, our mighty C-5Ms deploy all over the world anywhere you think a large airplane could well go, and we will get what needs to be there doing what we call rapid global mobility.”
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