Perkinsville
It was the weather conditions that likely led a B-29 to crash into Hawks Mountain shortly after midnight on that Sunday in Perkinsville, killing all 12 aboard. The bomber was on its way to Bedford, Mass., when it got off course.
A headline in the Rutland Herald read, in part, “Disaster Worst in State Aviation History.”
Seventy years later, that headline still remains true.
And 70 years later, the Weathersfield Historical Society will remember the 12 men in a ceremony on Saturday at 2 p.m., on the Perkinsville green, followed by a hike up to the crash site where debris still remains. For those who do not wish to hike, a documentary about the crash will be shown at the Perkinsville Church.
Ten years ago, on the 60th anniversary of the crash, a historical market was erected that lists the name, rank, hometown and role each man on the plane was filling on one side, and a description of the crash on the other.
“Ten years ago there were several relatives of some of the airmen that perished and this spring one of them contacted us and asked if we were going to do a 70th anniversary commemoration because he would like to bring his two grown sons,” said Jeffrey Pelton, programming chairman for the historical society. “So we decided to organize this ceremony.”
The plane crash is one of the better-known events in post-1900s town history, next to the flood of 1927, the Hurricane of 1938 and Tropical Storm Irene, said Sally Harris, a member of the historical society.
“This is a rather spectacular standout,” she said.
Many townspeople remember it, or remember hearing about it from their relatives growing up, said Ginger Wimberg, president of the historical society.
An article about the plane crash written by Barbara Norton Woodbury and published in the Weathersfield Weekly on June 11, 1982, which was republished by the historical society in February 1995, details what different members of the community were doing that Saturday night before it happened.
“John Hastings sat by his radio, Ted and Gert Barrows were overseeing a dance … Joan Hicks was having a party on the porch of her parents’ house in the village, and Herman and Marcia Young were giving a birthday party for Barbara Woodbury,” Norton Woodbury wrote.
People were heading home and to bed when “a horrifying roar shook the dance hall and rattled its windows as an immense airplane, with red and green lights flashing, swooped low overhead. Young Joe Barrows, outside waiting for his parents, said, ‘If that guy don’t get up, he’s gonna crash!’ Seconds later the motors stopped and a blazing flash lit up the countryside, showing clearly the outline of Hawks Mountain against the sky. Elizabeth Woodbury, awakened by the light, thought a nearby dump was on fire.”
Norton Woodbury goes on to describe the residents who immediately responded and made their way up the mountain.
Government officials immediately came to collect the remains of the servicemen and equipment from the plane. “Anything that was sensitive” was taken, Wimberg said, while the rest was left.
Throughout the years people have gone up to the crash site, which sits on private property, and took pieces of the plane. “Not just for the significance of the crash, but for the price of metal,” Wimberg said.
And the townspeople continue to remember, and honor, those who died.
“We all … want to recognize and remember our servicemen and women who have given their lives,” Pelton said.
Editor’s Note: The hike to the crash site is about a mile long and is steep and rocky. Those who plan on hiking on Saturday should be prepared for a strenuous hike. The Weatherfield Historical Society has copies of Norton Woodbury’s account of the plane crash available for purchase. For more information about the event, call 802-885-9517.
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
