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
B-24J 42-95559
2nd Lt. Robert Murchison crew
lost January 1, 1945
Bates Creek, Wyoming
B-24J-1 42-95559 rolling out of the
Ford Willow Run factory.
Modern day photo of the Willow Run tower and hangar in above photos.
Courtesy of Yankee Air Museum.
Ford Willow Run B-24J
production model sequences
B-24J-1 42-95559 was one of the first "J" models produced by Ford.
Could the following factory PR photos be related?
Data from Log of the Liberators by Steve Birdsall
B-24J 42-95559 Debris Field Photos
Site Discovery: May 22, 2020
Crash site photo from the USAAF accident report.
Debris trail in snow
Crazed Plexiglass
Propeller pitch gears.
Piece of a precision instrument.
Bombay door bracket discovered by Paul Spackman of EAA about one mile SW of the crash site at a sheepherders camp. The number 32 indicates a B-24 part.
Final resting place of 42-95559.
Radio mount frame discovered by Paul Spackman.
.50 caliber casing
Bullet-proof glass found near where the B-24J ball turret may have struck the ground.
Memorial service for family members of the Murchison crew, July 24, 2021
Chaplain Lt. Col. Rob Peterson of the Wyoming Army National Guard made these comments at a recent WWII memorial for Fallen Heroes.
The importance of a mission is not dependent on proximity to the battlefield. Everything the Army does in a time of war is geared towards achieving victory in that war. Whether it’s a mission over enemy territory, or a training mission closer to home, they are ALL wartime missions.
The members of the Murchison Crew were contributing in a significant way to the war effort. We owe them a debt of gratitude, as they gave us the last full measure of devotion. This was a crew who would enjoy no opportunity to enjoy freedom or reach an old age. This was a crew whose ultimate goal was, in the long run, simply get home.
Well, they ARE home now. Their world would have been chaos and uncertainty in their final few moments, but we can thank them today that all is well.
It is said “soldiers never die unless they are forgotten.”
Murchison crew families.