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 nine-man combat training crew of
2nd Lt. Andrew J. Taraba,
lost on September 24, 1944, near Mills, WY.
Mission of the Taraba crew
At about 1 PM on September 24, 1944, 2nd Lt. Taraba and his crew were returning to CAAB over Mills, WY after conducting an instrument practice mission. B-24J 42-73411 was flying low and slow at 1500 ft, a flight profile that B-24s are not well-suited.
About 8 miles SE of the base, the aircraft entered a tight turn and stalled. Being too low to recover, the aircraft collided with terrain at a steep angle. There were no survivors. The Taraba crash site is on private land, and the landowner says the site has been ravaged by trespassers over the decades.
The following photos are from the accident report.
The Taraba crew plaque
On June 23, 2023, Friends members and the Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum Director installed the granite plaque with crew names. The landowner assisted in determining a location for the plaque.
Taraba crew families memorialize their long-lost crew members
In 2022, Friends began researching living family members of the Taraba crew. The copilot was Jerome Goodman, youngest brother of band leader Benny Goodman. Despite intensive attempts to contact the Benny Goodman business and family, Friends had no success.
Relatives of two crewmembers were contacted and expressed interest in attending a memorial. One crewmember has a distant niece living in Casper, who attended the service. Relatives from another crewmember traveled to Casper from southern states to attend. Once again, the Wyoming Army National Guard conducted a military funeral service.
The following photos include the memorial service held on site on July 22, 2023.
The Benny Goodman family, with Taraba copilot Jerome front and center.
Wyoming Army National Guard funeral team conducts a flag folding ceremony
The Wyoming Army National Guard honors the Taraba crew at the crash site. Joining the Guard members is the family of a lost crewmember. The family members had travelled to Casper from southern states. One crewman family member resides in Casper.
Family members receive a folded flag from the Wyoming Army National Guard in honor of their lost crewmember.