Slublog: Remembering Fallen Cold Warriors

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January 24, 2008

Remembering Fallen Cold Warriors

On January 24, 1963 a B-53 left Westover Air Force Base to practice low-level navigation techniques. While flying over Greenville, Maine, the plane hit turbulence and crashed on the side of Elephant Mountain. This site explains what happened.

The pilot, Lt. Col. Dante E. Bulli, attempted to level the plane, but when he could not, he ordered ejection. The navigator, Capt. Gerald J. Adler, ejected first, followed by Bulli and the copilot, Maj. Robert J. Morrison. Time did not allow the others to escape before crashing into the side of Elephant Mountain at 2:52 p.m, They were: Lt. Col. Joe R. Simpson, Jr, Maj. William W. Gabriel, Maj. Robert J, Hill, Capt. Herbert L. Hansen, Capt, Charles G. Leuchter, and T-Sgt. Michael F. O'Keffe. Morrison was killed when he hit a tree while parachuting to the ground a mile away.

Bulli broke his ankle when he landed in a tree 30 feet above the ground. He survived the night, with temperatures reaching 28 degrees below zero, by tucking the sleeping bag from his survival kit into the snow. Adler struck the snow covered ground about 2,000 feet from the wreckage at a force estimated at 16 times the force of gravity. His skull was fractured and three ribs were broken. The impact bent his ejection seat enough that he could not get his survival kit out. He survived the night by wrapping himself up in his parachute, which did not deploy upon ejection, but both feet were frost bit.

I had the opportunity to visit the crash site last fall when visiting Greenville, and took a few pictures while there. The crash site is sobering, but worth a visit if you ever find yourself in western Maine.

What struck me the most was the contrast between the beauty of the woods and the terrible violence of the crash.