WWII letter to the parents of a crewman lost in air combat training:
"He did not lay down his life upon the field of battle, but his sacrifice is the same. He was preparing himself to defend those liberties and principles which had been taught to him from his early youth and which were a part of his very being. This may be small consolation to you in your bereavement, but you may well be proud both of his life and of his death."
Friends of the Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum
B-24J 42-100023, lost on Casper Mountain, WY, June 17, 1944, Zorn crew
Honoring the ten-man combat training crew of
2nd Lt. Louis E. Machala,
lost on February 25, 1943, in Converse County, WY
Researching and discovering the Machala site.
In 2017, the Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum requested the Friends research, locate, and document the Machala crash site. The Museum had no precise location information, other than the AAF accident report and news clippings. These documents suggested the crash site was 25 miles north of Glenrock, 28 miles NW of Glenrock, and 25 miles NE of Glenrock. Clearly, a ground search using these locations would be impossible.
The Museum provided a black and white AAF image, which had to that point, provided no clues keys to a true location. As with the Murchison site, Friends noted unique geomorphologic character of the creek near the site on the AAF air photo. Friends located the site based on similar characteristics of the creek between a Google Earth image and the original AAF site photo.
Google Earth image.
AAF crash site photo of burn area.
AAF crash site drawing. Note how the tail section is stacked on the forward part of the fuselage. This suggests the aircraft collided with the ground at a very high angle.
Documenting the Machala site.
In spring 2022, the Friends researched land ownership and contacted the landowner. At first, the rancher denied access, as he was sure there was no bomber crash on his land. Over the decades, he had traversed every square foot of his land and saw nothing resembling a crash. A common misconception of ranchers is that such a site would have a tail here, wings over there, and engines down in a gully. That is typically far from the case, as the AAF tended to be thorough in their cleanups on private land. The AAF sometimes paid landowners to bury the wreckage on their land.
After a few meetings whereby Friends presented their information, the skeptical owner agreed to accompany Friends on a field visit. Friends and the landowner walked straight to the crash site, much to the surprise of the landowner. He had no clue that ten young men met violent and sudden deaths at this very spot on his land. He was surprised and saddened about how small the debris fragments are, and how widely scattered they are. He stood in silence, staring at the ground. The following images are of the site.
A recovery crew from Casper Army Air Base at the Machala crash site shortly after the 1943 accident. Their grim facial expressions reflect the gruesome job they've been tasked with. This crew may have been associated with the base hospital.
The Machala crash site. It's no wonder the landowner had no idea it was there. Since February 1943, the B-17 debris field has been mercilessly stomped on by livestock. Friends considers this and all crash sites to be sacred burial sites, as human remains may still be present.
Aluminum tubing. Ink pen for scale.
Molten aluminum and .50 caliber casing distorted by heat.
A typical array of wreckage. Ink pen for scale.
Fragment of a precision instrument.
Aluminum casting fragments
Mass of molten aluminum.
Weathered rubber fragment.
Hose clamps with thumb screws.
Armor plating, likely to protect the cockpit crew.
Aluminum casting fragment with attached drag link and attach bolt.
A binding back for a small 6-ring binder.
An anomalous linear mound of dirt that the landowner says is not normal and should not be there. The Colorado Aviation Historical Society later scanned the mound with a heavy-duty magnetometer that found no evidence of buried metallic objects.
The Converse County Department of Roads and Bridges constructs the Macahala monument, July 2022
Fill added to the county right-of-way for a Machala memorial roadside monument on Ross Road.
Preparing the forms for concrete.
Off-loading the granite plaque,
Mobile Concrete of Casper generously donated concrete and transport.
Installing the plaque.
Honoring the Machala crew.
In 2021, Friends began researching Machala crewmembers in an attempt to locate living relatives. As with Murchison, the intent was to invite crew families to an on-site memorial service. Friends began planning for a large group, for the crew of ten would likely yield a number of relatives.
Friends' hard work with computer research yielded several living family members. Some made contact and expressed interest in attending a Glenrock memorial service. Sadly, none were able to commit.
Friends decided to conduct a memorial service and invite local residents and ranchers from the Douglas and Glenrock areas. The landowner gave permission to install the granite crew plaque on his land. The Wyoming Army National Guard once again agreed to conduct a military funeral service for the crew.
The Converse County Commissioners gave approval to the Department of Roads and Bridges to build a roadside historical attraction using the granite plaque. If on private land, the County expressed concern about the disposition of the plaque in case of a future land sale. The County engineered the roadside, provided construction materials, and conducted the installation (photos below).
On July 23, 2022, with about 50 people in attendance, the memorial service got kicked off with a flyby of a WWII North American T-6 trainer flown by an EAA pilot. The Wyoming National Guard conducted the military funeral, after which the group toured the crash site. Friends is greatly in debt to the landowner and county for making the memorial site and service possible. After the memorial service, the Douglas American Legion Auxillary kindly provided a reception for attendees.
The Wyoming Army National Guard conducts a military funeral service for the ten-man Machala crew. July 23, 2022.
Folded flag ceremony. Because no family members were present to accept the flag, it was donated to the Douglas Pioneer Memorial Museum in Douglas, WY for display and safe-keeping.
Memorial attendees visit the crash site debris field. Since Friends considers this to be a sacred burial site, we ask that all debris be left where found out of respect for the crew.