Washington County GaArchives News.....6 Bodies and Plane Wreck Discovered Here Monday September 2, 1943 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Mary Esther Smith messtogo55@alltel.net February 12, 2005, 2:00 am Sandersville Progress Only Skeletons Remained At Scene Of Crash Six Miles North Of Warthen; Grim Tragedy Is Found By Loggers. Skeletons of six bodies and wreckage of a two-motored B-25 bomber were found in a thickly-wooded section of Washington county, 15 miles north of Sandersville late Monday afternoon. Wreckage of the plane and the bodies were scattered for a space of 100 yards. When it crashed, the big plane cut down trees in its path, cutting through eight-inch trees and uprooting several others. Army officials here Tuesday to recover the bodies and the wreckage said that it was believed that the plane was one missing from Columbis, S.C., since June 27. Immediate identification of the bones was impossible, and no details were available. All clothing and even the unopened parachutes had deteriorated. Only skeletons remained. The wreck was discovered Monday afternoon by Fred Fields, who was logging in the vicinity, and sought shelter from the heavy rainstorm that occurred. The section in which the plane fell is desolated woodland, traversed by small streams, and no cultivated farm lands are nearby. It is located about six miles above Warthen, and is some two miles from the Joe Sparks home. This was the third air crash to occur in the county within a year. The Columbia, S.C., Army Air Base Public Relations Office said the wreckage was that of a twin engined bomber missing from the base since late June. July 3 the air base announced a twin-engined medium bomber with a crew of six aboard had disappeared while on a routine flight June 27. Members of the crew aboard that plane were listed as; Second Lieutenant Gilbert P. Johnson, 109 East South St. Pontiac, ILL. Second Lieutenant Mourse A. Nielson, 3627 W, Street, Oakland, California. Second Lieutenant Michael A. Rusnak, 317 13th Street, Ambridge, Pennsyivania. Staff Sergeant Daniel F. Ball, Canoe, ILL. Sergeant Joseph C. Hedman, Harvell, ILL. Sergeant Horace S. Bowen, Jr. 301 S. Fourth Street, Sunbury, Pennsylvania. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/washington/newspapers/gnw5516bodiesa.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 2.6 Kb