WWII crash researcher scours Dakota City sites
By Nick Hytrek Journal staff writer | Posted: Sunday, March 23, 2008
Jerry Penry, a land surveyor from Milford, Neb., searches for pieces of a C-29 transport plane that crashed near Dakota City on Jan. 31, 1944. Penry is researching fatal World War II aircraft crashes in Nebraska. (Photo by Nick Hytrek)
DAKOTA CITY -- As the mud caked to the bottom of his shoes on the cold, damp morning, Jerry Penry kept searching, waving his metal detector in front of him.
Finally, a beep.
"I found one," he said.
Lying on top of the ground was a piece of aluminum. Unrusted, the piece of metal, still showing its Army green, was a small reminder of the crash of a C-29 transport plane more than 64 years ago.
Penry got out a small orange flag to mark the site of his find and continued his search in the field southwest of Dakota City.
Before the search began, Chuck Sides stood along the gravel road, telling Penry what he could remember of the Jan. 31, 1944, crash. Sides was 8 years old when the plane flew over his family's farmhouse and crashed around 12:30 a.m. in a field across the road to the east.
"I just remember when it went over, it just missed the top of our house. It was a roar. Then ka-boom, it was silent. That whole field over there was on fire," Sides said, waving an arm toward the field.
"There were pieces of people. It blew 'em out. I remember it left a hell of a crater. I couldn't sleep for three nights after that."
Three Army airmen died in the crash, including 2nd Lt. Francis M. Wikstrom of nearby Ponca.
Penry's visit was the latest in his quest to investigate and document every fatal World War II aircraft crash site in Nebraska. He's traveled to every end of the state and visited all but four of the 57 documented fatal crash sites, plus three other sites of fatalities that didn't result from crashes. Penry's research shows that 240 men and women were killed in those incidents.
In addition to the C-29 crash site, Penry checked out a second Dakota County location where a B-26 Marauder bomber crashed on Jan. 26, 1944, and killed the five-man crew.
At most sites, Penry finds pieces of wreckage like the aluminum he spotted Friday.
Because the C-29, which had come from St. Joseph, Mo., on a navigation flight and had just taken off from the Sioux City Air Base, exploded, Penry expected to find more pieces.
"When these things explode, you find pieces everywhere," he said.
Such was the case Friday at the second crash site, where about 20 pieces were found.
A land surveyor from Milford, Neb., with an interest in aviation history, Penry said he started his mission in 2006 to get as much information about each site from witnesses before it's too late.
"You hear people talking about (the crashes), but they're old and they won't be around much longer. We need to talk to them now," he said.
The author to two books, Penry plans to publish his research in a book titled "Nebraska's Fatal Air Crashes of WWII."
Nick Hytrek can be reached at 712-293-4226 or nickhytrek@siouxcityjournal.com
For more information about fatal World War II aircraft crashes in Nebraska, visit Penry's Web site at www.nebraskaaircrash.com.
Finally, a beep.
"I found one," he said.
Lying on top of the ground was a piece of aluminum. Unrusted, the piece of metal, still showing its Army green, was a small reminder of the crash of a C-29 transport plane more than 64 years ago.
Penry got out a small orange flag to mark the site of his find and continued his search in the field southwest of Dakota City.
Before the search began, Chuck Sides stood along the gravel road, telling Penry what he could remember of the Jan. 31, 1944, crash. Sides was 8 years old when the plane flew over his family's farmhouse and crashed around 12:30 a.m. in a field across the road to the east.
"I just remember when it went over, it just missed the top of our house. It was a roar. Then ka-boom, it was silent. That whole field over there was on fire," Sides said, waving an arm toward the field.
"There were pieces of people. It blew 'em out. I remember it left a hell of a crater. I couldn't sleep for three nights after that."
Three Army airmen died in the crash, including 2nd Lt. Francis M. Wikstrom of nearby Ponca.
Penry's visit was the latest in his quest to investigate and document every fatal World War II aircraft crash site in Nebraska. He's traveled to every end of the state and visited all but four of the 57 documented fatal crash sites, plus three other sites of fatalities that didn't result from crashes. Penry's research shows that 240 men and women were killed in those incidents.
In addition to the C-29 crash site, Penry checked out a second Dakota County location where a B-26 Marauder bomber crashed on Jan. 26, 1944, and killed the five-man crew.
At most sites, Penry finds pieces of wreckage like the aluminum he spotted Friday.
Because the C-29, which had come from St. Joseph, Mo., on a navigation flight and had just taken off from the Sioux City Air Base, exploded, Penry expected to find more pieces.
"When these things explode, you find pieces everywhere," he said.
Such was the case Friday at the second crash site, where about 20 pieces were found.
A land surveyor from Milford, Neb., with an interest in aviation history, Penry said he started his mission in 2006 to get as much information about each site from witnesses before it's too late.
"You hear people talking about (the crashes), but they're old and they won't be around much longer. We need to talk to them now," he said.
The author to two books, Penry plans to publish his research in a book titled "Nebraska's Fatal Air Crashes of WWII."
Nick Hytrek can be reached at 712-293-4226 or nickhytrek@siouxcityjournal.com
For more information about fatal World War II aircraft crashes in Nebraska, visit Penry's Web site at www.nebraskaaircrash.com.
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