Group dedicates military crash site pavilion

CAREY, Wis. - A group of over 20 people gathered near the B-47 crash site monument Saturday for a brief ceremony marking the dedication of a pavilion at the site.

"If it wasn't for your group - this crash site has obviously been here since the crash, and it sat dormant for decades," Carey town Chairman Bob Walesewicz. "It's so nice to see someone stand up, take charge, a group come together and put together a facility like this.

"It means so much our community, it means so much to the families that were involved in (these crashes). I have to tell you, if it weren't for you guys, none of this would be here."

The memorial is near the location of two plane crashes that occurred 10 weeks apart in February and May 1961.

Both B-47 bomber jets were from Topeka, Kan., and were practicing bombing runs in the area, according to Curt Myers, one of the organizers of the group building the memorial

Four Air Force officers were killed in the first crash, which Myers said was caused by mechanical error when a pin in the plane broke. Two of the four occupants of the second plane survived the crash, which Myers said was due to a series of human errors - including a sick pilot who probably shouldn't have been cleared to fly.

The pavilion is the latest project completed by the group of supporters that have been working to improve the monument that commemorates the pair of nearby plane crashes.

Myers said the improvements started small - just adding handicap accessibility and making an easier path to the site, which was a very basic monument at the time.

"It was just a post in the ground with a welded airplane," Myers said.

While the initial plan was to only raise $2,000 to $3,000, Myers said the overwhelming support for the project mean they had to expand their improvements.

"We got a hold of one of the pilot's granddaughters, and she got us in touch with her uncle, her aunt and her dad - who were the sons and daughter of one of the pilots - and we told them what we wanted to do," Myers said. "We started sending out letters, money started coming in, next thing you know we had $20,000 on hand."

That led to a larger, more ornate memorial which included not only wreckage from the crashes but also plaques describing what happened. The group also later built the pavilion and plan on adding stone benches, a parking lot and bathrooms in the future. There is also some talk about building a path down to one of the actual crash sites.

"It's a work in progress, we still got a bit of stuff to do," Myers said, adding the group of around six volunteers built the pavilion in a single weekend.

The pavilion is dedicated to the veterans of the Persian Gulf War, as Myers said there really wasn't anything in the area to honor that group of veterans.

The group will likely doing some fundraising in the future to continue their efforts, although Myers said people have always been generous in contributing.

"Just like anything, when you think you're kind of at your last straw, boom everyone comes together and helps," he said.

More information can be found at the group's B-47 crash site preservation Facebook page.

Myers welcomed those who want to help with the memorial, saying that all that needs to be done is to let him know the plan so he can recognize their contributions.

He said the group is also working to get the Veteran's Administration to formally recognize the site, which has had 8,200 visitors sign the guest book in the last two years.