October 31, 2021 • 40 mins
Museums are known for holding all sorts of important objects. Some museums, however, hold something not usually visible… something of the spiritual realm. These places are fertile grounds for folklore to take root.
Such is the case with the United State Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.
Come hear the personal experiences of famed author of Ohio ghost tales, Ms. Chris Woodyard. Her renowned 5-part series, Haunted Ohio, introduced many Ohioans to folktales which spring forth from our backyards. In today’s episode, she offers keen insights into the ghostly sightings at the largest military aviation museum in the world.
Come hear the heart wrenching true tale of a group of men, who gave all they had in support of our freedom. Many believe their spirits can still be found near parts of the wreckage of their WWII B-24D bomber.
We owe all veterans and active military members a debt of service. Let us remember their sacrifices as we approach Veterans Day on November 11.
If you enjoy this episode, please rate, review and subscribe to Ohio Folklore on your chosen podcast platform. You can also find Ohio Folklore at:
Ohiofolklore.com
Facebook.com/ohiofolklore
And as always, keep wondering…
A special thanks to author Chris Woodyard for her participation in today’s episode. You can find her extensive collection of ghostly tales at her website here: http://hauntedohiobooks.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Unknown (00:03):
Hello and welcome to Ohio folklore. I'm your host
Melissa Davies. Today, we'reexploring one venerable Ohio
institution that stands as theoldest and largest military
aviation museum in the world.
More than a million visitorspass through its doors every
year to marvel at the historycontained within. They come to
(00:27):
see famed aircraft, spanningfrom the early fliers of the
Wright brothers to today's mostadvanced nuclear armed
supersonic bombers.
They come to walk in the stepsof former presidents as they
step aboard retired Air Forceones. They come to see the
Apollo 15 Command Module, whichonce orbited the moon 74 times,
(00:53):
they come to lay eyes on the oneand only Memphis Belle. While
she wants helped defeat NaziGermany. She now rests in glory,
a testament to what we canachieve, not only in aviation,
but in the cause for freedom.
The reason so many of us visitthis hallowed space are too
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numerous to count. With acurrent capacity of more than 1
million square feet, one canspend days perusing exhibits of
monumental importance. All thisand admission is free.
What a jewel we have in thismuseum. All are welcome. All can
come wonder at how learning tofly changed us as a people. It
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changed the way we traveled andthe way we fought wars. It
changed our perspective on theworld, bringing faraway lands to
within a day or twos journeyamong the clouds.
I'm talking about the NationalMuseum of the United States Air
Force in Dayton, Ohio.
(02:04):
Many Ohioans have visited theNational Museum more than once.
With so much to see it's nowonder so many visitors or
repeat guests, yet for a smallnumber of people, including
visitors, staff and volunteers,some folks bear witness to
strange and inexplicableexperiences. It seems certain
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exhibits about a half dozenretain a kind of spiritual
energy. But unexplained noises,moans and whispers emanate from
the still craft. mysteriouslights hover and sway.
Once the busyness of crowds diesdown at the museum's close each
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day, and the lights are turnedlow. night guards and cleaning
crew are prone to catchingglimpses of transparent figures.
Some seated in cockpits, otherswandering the cavernous spaces.
The claims of ghostly sightingsare many they span decades. Like
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most folktales these spiritsstories carry deep emotional
impact. They offer painfullessons and direction for our
own life's journeys.
Let's start our introduction tothis monumental location by
hearing from an expert in allthings haunted and our great
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state. Since at least the early90s Chris Woodard has held the
title of one of Ohio's mostbeloved authors of ghost tales,
many of you undoubtedly devouredher five volume series called
haunted Ohio.
It remains the quintessentialreference on ghostly Ohio lore.
(03:50):
She was born and raised in theColumbus area, but now has lived
in Dayton for many years. She iswhat you might call a sensitive,
having had unexplained spiritualexperiences throughout her life.
How lucky for us that shedecided to share them through
her writings. You can check outall her works at haunted Ohio
(04:11):
books.com.
Her enthusiasm for what mayexist beyond the veil is deep
and abiding. Luckily, she agreedto an interview for today's
episode.
Come hear her story.
I was so thrilled to see yourlittle excerpts on the United
(04:35):
States Air Force Museum there inDayton. And if I understand
right, you are a local today.
Yes. Yeah. Okay, maybe that addsa little more significance to
them. Yeah, a little bit,although I never go there.
I don't like it. It's notcomfortable. Yeah, I think I had
(04:56):
read that. So it really gives usdifficult vibe.
Are you there? Very much. Soas one woman, the one woman who
took me through when I did thefirst, I wrote it in haunted
Ohio to I wrote a chapter on theghosts at the Air Force Museum.
And she said, these arewarbirds.
(05:17):
There's 1000s of hands haspassed through, you know, around
these machines, or there's beendeaths or there's been injuries.
It's got to leave a mark. Soit's a very uncomfortable place.
Yeah. And even in comparison tothe many locations you've done
to you would say, well, it's theit's the kind of play. I mean,
(05:40):
there's a lot of places thatmake me uncomfortable.
Collingwood Art Center, the OhioState Reformatory, those are
sort of the tops of my terrorlist. Because they make me so
tired and uncomfortable. But Irealized, just Yes, come and
they want to go to the museum,you know, so I would be game and
I go along, and then I'd comeout and I would just be an
(06:00):
absolute wreck for the next dayor two. Like I was just having a
life sucked out of me. And Irealized that was the problem.
It was just extremely draining.
So I won't go back there.
There's no reason for me to goback. People couldn't go enjoy
it without me. Yeah. Well, youknow, I wonder and this is kind
(06:21):
of my own musings here. But ifyou think about the reformatory,
which of course was a prison forso many years,
the kind of emotions that peoplehave. Sure. And and also, you
know, a lot of the the historyand the tragedy attached to so
many objects at the museum, Icould understand how that could
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relate back when, exactly,you're the worst place for me
was near the pow exhibit.
Again, the woman who brought meinto walkthrough place was I
think, she said, I think theworst place is and I stopped her
and I said, let's see if I canfeel it myself. You know, so I
(07:01):
was walking around by myself,and it was just awful. And I
couldn't. I was like, walkinginto sort of the air sickening.
Very, very dire. And then Ivaguely saw that this was the
case about exhibits andartifacts from POW camps. And
(07:22):
it's like, ah, that's the spot.
That's the problem. Okay,that's, that's one of the worst
places and then the lady be goodexhibits, also had a similar
problem there. This was a theplane that crashed in the Libyan
desert, right. And the men triedto walk out and failed and
perish. There's some thoughtthat they thought they were
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seeing water beneath them, whenthey landed in the desert, they
saw the dunes as water. Sothere's just a bit of the plane
there. But it's when you walk upto it, it was like stepping over
what I would call a circle ofinfluence, you know, you've
suddenly got into this areawhere you can feel something
from the plane remnant.
(08:09):
The terrorism mens last moments,or just the terror of crashing.
There's so much emotion attachedto airplanes, aviators get
really attached to their planes.
Even if something has beentorn apart or pieced together. I
know during the Second WorldWar, at least they would we use
it as planes in other planes torepair them. So you just wonder
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what was left over. When thathappened, you know, when it was
put together.
So with the lady Bidgoodexhibit, in particular, what you
experienced was kind of visceralsensation, very visceral, it's,
it's sometimes feels like beingpunched in the stomach.
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Sometimes it feels likeelectricity, or running into a
brick wall in the dark or havingsomething fly out of the grass
into your face unexpectedly.
It's really startling. And you'dthink I'd be used to it by now.
But I'm not. I was scared ofghosts when I was a child. And I
guess I sort of got into this asa form of aversion therapy.
(09:19):
It hasn't worked. I'm stillafraid of them. But I'm mostly
retired from going out toplaces. It's only by accident.
You know, if I were before COVIDAs I were visiting a historic
site or something, I mightnotice something but I've
retired from actually visitingpeople's homes or historic sites
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that when they've asked me tocome in, okay, because it's
taxing, essential draining todraining. I have had several
friends say that their healthimproved after they stopped
doing this work. And I can seewhy because it's you're pumping
adrenaline you're pumpingcortisol Everything is on alert.
(10:03):
Going back to the museum thatyou mentioned the lady be good
exhibits, of course. Were thereany other exhibits that stand
out in your memory? Yeah, theblack Mariah, a helicopter that
was in Vietnam. Uh huh. Painteddead flat black. And apparently,
she flew a lot of classifiedmissions that we still don't
(10:24):
know a lot about. Butcopters there, you can see the
bullet holes patched all overher. There's just hundreds of
patches all over the skin. Andsometimes you can see the pilot
sitting in the seat. I think hejust again doesn't know he's
dead. Is a very grimartifact, if you will. The
(10:45):
helicopters very dark. It's gota dark aura around it. It's
darkness within. And it's justnot someplace I would want to be
around. Okay, so pretty negativeenergy, very negative.
And, as I say, we do not knowwhat went on. Although we do
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know that some people wereferried back, you know, people
who were injured were beingferried by this machine. So?
Yeah, so they weren't able, asfar as you know, they weren't
able to identify the identity ofthis pilot that that scene? No,
and, and I was there with one ofthe historians from the museum.
(11:32):
So they said, No, a lot of thisstuff is still classified, and
it'll be classified for another50 years or so. Oh, okay. So I
don't know anything about howthat works in terms of, you
know, military classifications,but I guess they can keep things
secret as fun as they want to.
I've had some good fortune toconnect with a former security
(11:54):
officerwho's now retired that he's
confirmed a lot of similarthings to what you've described,
including the lady be goodexhibit and the black Mariah,
among some others, the boxcarcar yeah, the little children
seen playing little boy seenrunning around the base. And
then other guards said that theywould come around the corner end
(12:16):
of the month modern flightGallery, and there'd be a whole
group of Asian children playingin the hall.
Terrifying.
Oh, I know, to think.
Yeah, it's hard to fathom.
But he had also shared thatsometimes, you know, he can see
he could see details of theapparitions, including the
(12:39):
helmet,details of the youth, the
uniforms they'd be wearing.
And the other interesting thingthat he shared, which I haven't
read anywhere else was the GlennMiller exhibit. Oh, that it's
known that it emanates big bandmusic. Oh, no, that is new to
me, too. I thought that was abright spot of, you know,
(13:02):
positive energy in the midst ofright.
Yeah, yeah. There's not much,much happy. Many happy ghosts
there.
That's, that's interesting. Ididn't realize that one.
They used to be very, verycautious about telling people
(13:22):
about ghosts over there. Theywere I did a TV show locally,
and the PR lady had to follow usaround and make sure we didn't
say anything too awful. Andwe're finishing up and up walks
this immense man guard inuniform and he's armed. He's
like, you're the ghost lady.
Right? And I said, Yeah, aswell. I want to tell you, when
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I'm here by myself at night, theintercoms come on by themselves
and I go and lock myself in theoffice. Or the PR lady is not
want to hear that. Ohjust spoil the whole thing,
because she had just momentsbefore said, Oh, no, I don't
think there's anything there'sno ghosts here. Okay.
(14:08):
Seriously, she has reasons forthat. And, you know, shying away
visitors or something, butRight. That was how they used to
be, but it's been on, you know,some of the ghost hunting shows
they've gotten a lot morepublicity. Yeah, that so I think
that more likely draw morepeople than then shy them away
personally, but yes, exactly. MyGod. Do you have any guesses? I
(14:32):
know, this is a stretch kind ofa fair question. But any
thoughts on what the lingeringspirits what their message might
be or what their dilemma mightbe that this kept them in the in
the building? As I think as Isaid, you know, aviators do get
(14:53):
very attached to their planes,and I could see some young
aviator you know, this isHe was young and he was killed.
And this is the only place hehad a good time. You know, this
was a good place for him. Sohe's going to stay
choosing to stay. I can also seepeople not realizing they're
(15:14):
dead. And and just being stoppedlike the helicopter pilot
saying, hey, if I just lose thestick once more, I'll find my
way back. Which I feel verysorry for ones that you know
they're lost.
Lost, it's a feeling most of uscan relate to at some point in
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our lives. It's that feeling ofdisconnection and lone sadness,
one of the worst emotions any ofus can go through. Whether
you're a child wandering theaisles of a supermarket,
searching for a distractedparent, or whether you're a
hiker who's lost a cell signal,weigh in whether or not you've
passed this tree before.
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Feeling lost starts with amoment of awful realization,
followed by a sometimesdesperate and forlorn effort to
reconnect.
This most painful of emotionsums up one of the saddest and
most gripping tales connected tothis museum. We're going to dive
deep into a very real historicaldrama, and examine its ties to
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ghostly sightings at the place.
When I came across thisparticular account in my
research, my heart sank oncontemplating these young man's
ultimate sacrifice for ourcountry. As we approach Veterans
Day on November 11, let usremember the selfless efforts of
countless men and women throughthe centuries who gave all they
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had to protect our way of life.
As I mentioned earlier, Iconnected with the former
security guard of the museum.
While he declined an audiointerview, not wanting the
attention that might bring hewas quite eager to share details
of this many unexplainableencounters. During several years
station they're disembodied bigband music would often waft from
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the Glenn Miller's exhibit,which contain many instruments,
uniforms, and other objects fromhis days entertaining troops.
Mystery figures manifestedaround the boxcars massive front
tire, this B 29 bomber haddropped the second atomic bomb
on Nagasaki, effectively endingthe war.
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The pow exhibit was known foreerie sounds, and heavy gut
wrenching emotional impacts forunsuspecting visitors.
The retired security guardexplained that whenever he would
approach it ghostly figure,they'd usually evaporate before
he could get too close for abetter inspection. However, I'll
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never forget a handful ofoccasions when he'd been lucky
enough to catch a glimpse of ahelmet, laced boots, and
fatigues, before the visionwould disappear completely.
Spotting a full bodiedapparition is often considered
the holy grail of Ghost Huntersaround the world. This gentleman
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said he'd seen them many timesover.
His time spent working at themuseum changed him, it opened
his mind to the world beyond ourown. He is certain that
something of who we are todaylives on after our earthly
demise.
What struck me as even moreintriguing, however, were his
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claims that full bodiedapparitions were most often
spotted around the lady be goodexhibit.
In fact, he'd seen them oftenenough to recognize when an
apparition had wandered from theexhibit itself, down a wide Hall
and into other areas of themuseum all together. Some number
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of this group of men, all ofwhom lost their lives in the
Libyan desert, seem to roam thehalls and massive exhibit spaces
of our treasured United StatesAir Force Museum.
Assuming these manifestationsmust bring forth from some
compelling story, wrought withunresolved throws of emotion, I
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decided to dig deep into what Icould learn of the history. What
I found there was more heartwrenching than I could have
imagined.
It gave me a deeper appreciationfor the selfless sacrifice these
men made for the cause offreedom.
Come here their heartbreakingstory, as gathered from
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historical documents.
The lady be good was what'sknown as a B 24 D liberator, a
lumbering tank of an aircraft,which carried heavy payloads
over access territory.
are working to pound the enemyinto submission. Her eager crew
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of nine young men had beendesperate to join the fight.
They'd only just arrived inLibya in March 1943. Within a
week, they'd been assigned theirfirst and only combat mission to
cross the Mediterranean as oneof 28 bombers, and pound the
living daylights out of militarytargets in Naples, Italy.
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When the group took off from theLibyan base at 145 in the
afternoon, they flew straightinto a massive sandstorm.
Lumbering slowly upwards, Ladybe good would eventually rise
above the weather, wherevisibility improved
considerably. For a timehowever, the crew thought they
might end up fighting themission alone, as many of her
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fellow bombers aboard admissionwhen the blowing sand disabled
their engines, rendering thempowerless to fly above the
storm. So many bombers had tolimp their way back to base, not
lady be good. She would fly onacross the sea, along with only
about six of the originalSquadron, but then suddenly went
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only 30 miles south of target inNaples. She turned back, she had
been the last of the six to doso. The weather had delayed them
so much that the sun had set,blanketing the landscape beneath
them in darkness, without theaccuracy of a visual target.
First Lieutenant William Hattonelected to abort the mission, a
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decision which most certainlysaved the lives of innocent
Italian civilians.
By 1110 That evening, all butone of the bombers had returned
safely. I'll be at mostlydisabled to the US Army base and
Libya. Lady be good, neverreturned.
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She had made no distress call.
As the hour slipped by one afterthe other, all assumed she'd
suffered trouble over water andcrashed into the sea. She and
her crew relisted Mia, assumedlost to the waves.
For 15 years, the tale of whathappened to her remained a
(22:23):
mystery. The family members ofher crew were left with no
explanation of the final momentsof their mission.
And that's where the story wouldhave remained yet today. If it
weren't for the accidentaldiscovery of the planes wreckage
by a British oil explorationteam in November 1958. She'd
(22:45):
been found 440 miles inland, farfar away from the deep recesses
of the Mediterranean Sea.
On this day, the stifling 135degree heat rising from the
desert sands, one group ofexplorers happened upon one of
the most baffling world war twomysteries of that era.
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She'd been nearly perfectlypreserved with no indications of
flak or machine gun damage. Onlyher fuselage had been broken off
near the tail. It whereas if thelady be good, had made a
graceful belly landing, glidingalong the sandy surface of the
remote Libyan desert. There shehad rested, undisturbed for 15
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years. Inside the cruise fleecelined suits worn at freezing
high altitudes, hung neatly androse water cans remained full.
Coffee had been brewed, and wasstill drinkable, inside thermos
jugs.
All around the site, and alldirections as far as the eye
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could see was nothing but barrendunes, some towering 600 feet,
blowing and shifting with thewinds. There was no vegetation,
no animals, nothing but natureat its barest.
The discovery of the craftitself had only deepened the
mystery of the fate of her youngcrew.
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Although the battery had beendrained, the aircraft's radio
was in perfect working order. Adesert survival kit, along with
many MRE rations had been leftuntouched. The navigators table
offered a few tantalizing clues.
an ashtray on top of itcontained buts from cigarettes,
fully smoked at the bottom.
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Yet near the top of the pile,were many half smoke cigarettes,
reflecting the growingnervousness of a navigator
unsure of their location,believing the distant uniform
surface below them weren't sanddunes, but the ebbs and flows of
waves in an angry sea.
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It was assumed that once thelady be good began losing
altitude due to exhausting orfuel, that the lot of them
bailed out over what theyexpected to be the Mediterranean
Sea. What surprise awaited themwhen their feet found the
ancient sands of the Libyandesert, their plane. Now a
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ghostly image of itself withoutour crew flew on alone, before
making an almost perfect bellylanding, and one of the most
desolate regions on our planet.
Immediately after discoveringthe wreckage in 1958, an
exploration group commenced asearch for the crews human
(25:44):
remains in desperate hopes offinding and bringing the
servicemen home. For threemonths search party after search
party come to this 1000 squaremiles section of the desert,
known by locals as cursed byAllah Himself.
Those souls lost there do notreturn. They are not found.
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A large number of the searchparty believe the same fate
would come to the original Nineman crew. Perhaps they would
forever remain where they hadfallen.
The first sign of their finalresting places was revealed 18
miles north of the wreckagesite, a civilian member of the
search party discovered a pairof flying boots lying beside a
(26:30):
barely discernible trail. Thisled the team to a half dozen
parachutes, indicating that themen had managed to gather
together after bailing out thesmall remnants of a trail led
the team further north, wherethe dunes grew taller and into
an even greater expanse of theunforgiving desert.
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heartbreakingly had to doomedcrew headed south instead of
North. They'd have only had oneday's walk to arrive at lady
goods, largely intact carcasswith her working radio and food
and water rations.
But having no way of knowing howfar the plane had flown, and in
(27:13):
what direction, they decided tohead north to what they believed
would be the sea. They had noidea they were 400 miles into a
barren and merciless desert.
With no hats to shield them fromthe sun, and half a canteen of
water. They marched onward,various search efforts would go
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on in the years to come in hopesof somehow coming across the
crews bodily remains.
Remarkably, in February 1960,members of another British oil
exploration team found theremains of five of the nine crew
members.
They were located a remarkable85 miles north of the crash
(27:59):
site. The remains were foundgrouped together along with some
small personal effects. Amongthose effects were diaries kept
by co pilot Lieutenant Roberttoner and Flight Engineer Harold
rip slinger. They detailed theirdesperate attempts at survival
from April 5 through April12 1943.
(28:24):
They filled in details thatcould have been known no other
way. These words are preciousand tragic to read. But it puts
us there with them. And it mightshed light as to the tumultuous
despair they surely confronted.
Come here and Lieutenant Roberttoners final words
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Sunday April 4 1943.
Naples 28 planes things prettywell mixed up got lost returning
out of gas jumped landed indesert at two o'clock in the
morning. No one badly hurt canfind John. All others present.
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Monday started walking Northweststill no John. A few rations,
half a canteen of water. one capfull per day. Sun fairly warm,
good breeze from Northwest nightvery cold, no sleep, rested and
walkedTuesday rested at 1130 Sun very
(29:32):
warm, no breeze spent pm inHell, no planes etc. Rested
until 5pm walked and rested allnight. 15 minutes on five off
Wednesday. Same routine.
Everyone getting weak. Can't getvery far. Prayers all the time.
(30:00):
Again pm very warm hell can'tsleep. Everyone sore from
ground.
Thursday. Hit sand dunes verymiserable. Good wind but
continuous blowing of sand.
Everyone now very weak. ThoughtSam and more. We're all gone.
Lamotte eyes are gone. Everyoneelse's eyes are bad. Still going
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Northwest.
Friday.
Shelley rip and more separateand try to go for help. Rest of
Us All very weak eyes bad. Notany travel. All want to die.
Still very little water. Nightsare about 35 Good. Northwind no
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shelter. One parachute left.
Saturday. Still having prayermeetings for help. No signs of
anything. A couple of birds.
Goodwin from north. really weaknow can't walk. pains all over.
Still all want to die.
Nights very cold. No sleep.
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Sunday. Still waiting for help.
still praying eyes bad. lost allour weight, aching all over.
could make it if we had water,just enough left to put our
tongue to have hope for helpvery soon. No rest still same
place.
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Monday, April 12 1943. No helpyet. cold night.
This was his final entry.
With only half a canteen ofwater among them they had set
out and what would have been upto 130 degree heat and a futile
(31:50):
attempt to find help.
At 1.5 Of the eight reachedexhaustion, leaving the
remaining three to pursue onwardthrough a haze of delirium and
indescribable pain.
In May 1960, the remains of oneof those three men guys shellye
were found another 21 milesnorth of the site, where the
(32:14):
five crew men had been found.
And only five days later, asearch team would find another
of the group of three. FlightEngineer Harold rip slinger, had
made it another 26 miles furthernorth. He'd walked in total 132
miles from where he firstlanded, drinking practically no
(32:35):
water along the way.
The search efforts were againwrapped up at this point in late
May 1960 depressingly to membersremains had not been found. And
interestingly enough, these twocrew men had been the only ones
to hail from the great state ofOhio. In special tribute to
(32:57):
their lives and tragic deaths.
I'm presenting their storieshere.
Second Lieutenant John s forvaca was the crews 24 year old
Bombardier from Cleveland. Hewas a graduate of John Adams
high school and had worked as ariveter with the champion Revit
company before enlisting in thearmy air corps.
(33:21):
He was the one crew member whodid not rendezvous with the
others when the wreck occurred.
His remains would be discovered16 miles northwest at the
wreckage site and August 1960 byanother British oil team.
The configuration of theparachute found along with him,
suggested that it did not openproperly on his descent. He died
(33:45):
instantly on impacting theground. His canteen was still
three quarters of the way fullwith pristine bacteria free
water.
His fellow crew members, all ofwhom survived the initial
bailout would come together onlya half mile to the southwest of
where were vaca. His remainswere eventually discovered. It
(34:07):
seems his faulty parachute endedup saving him the torturous and
slow deaths of his colleagues.
His remains were flown toFrankfurt, Germany, where an
army mortician positivelyidentified the corpse as that
belonging to Lieutenant werevaca.
When reporters from theCleveland Plain Dealer first
(34:30):
learned if the discovery theyfound Lieutenant Werbach his
brother, Alex were vaca andinformed him of the positive
identification. Although thefamily had held out hope that he
would one day return. After 17years of being missing an
action, his family expressedrelief that they were finally
(34:50):
bringing him home.
The remains of the other crewmember staff sergeant Vernon
moreare officially still missing.
This 20 year old air gunner wasthe only member whose remains
could not formally beidentified. However, a
historical review of BritishArmy records dating to 1953
(35:12):
showed that a patrol unit cameupon an identifiable human
remains directly proximate towhere the last two members would
be identified much later.
1953 was five years before thelady be good wreckage itself had
(35:32):
even been found.
Assuming the corpse theydiscovered belong to some
wayfaring. Local lost to thedesert sands. The army unit
buried it documented theirfinding, and one about their
business. An investigation ofthe incident was reopened in
2001 and concluded that the sizeof the skeletal remains match
(35:55):
that a sergeant more the youngman who held from New Boston,
Ohio, on the Ohio River.
He'd been one of the three crewmembers who'd hiked the farthest
after the first five fell victimto the worst nature could give.
(36:16):
If you go to visit the museumfor yourself, and I sincerely
hope you do, you'll find theexhibit dedicated to the men who
so tragically lost their younglives on this their first combat
mission. After the wreck wasdiscovered, numerous parts from
the lady be good were returnedto the US for technical study.
(36:37):
In addition, some parts wereinstalled and other aircraft.
Coincidentally, some of thosecraft suffered difficulties,
including the crash of an armyouter aeroplane, which took the
lives of all 10 men aboard.
The exhibit at Dayton's UnitedStates Air Force Museum contains
(36:58):
original parts of the plane,including a wheel from its
landing gear, a propeller, ahelmet, and an unused canteen.
Also included are many photosand other documents of the Rex
original discovery and theexhaustive search to find the
missing crew members and bringthem home.
(37:22):
were drawn to the sprawlingmuseum for many reasons, lots of
people go to see militaryaviation at its best to witness
the progression and technologythrough the decades. And to
marvel at what we'veaccomplished and learning to
harness the wind.
Many come to pay tribute to thecountless men and women who lost
their lives in those efforts,whether in the early stages of
(37:45):
building and designing the firstaircraft, or those who died in
combat efforts while a countrywas at war.
A growing number of visitorscome after hearing rumors of
otherworldly happenings at theplace. Ghosts tourism is a kind
of industry that's been growingsteadily since the advent of
(38:06):
paranormal reality shows. WhileI'm sure a certain number of
people come to the museum forthis reason, I hope that once
they get there, they findanother perhaps even deeper
purpose for going whether or notghost loving visitors find
spirits among these movingexhibits. I hope they discover
the power of the stories behindthem.
(38:29):
If we're to believe that spiritswe call ghosts, our souls lost
between worlds, then perhaps atragedy such as the wreckage of
the lady be good exemplifieswhat it means to be lost,
separated from the rest ofhumanity in an unforgiving
climate. These men didn't giveup. They went on searching,
(38:51):
trying to reconnect with therest of us. Their ultimate
inability to do so shouldn'tovershadow the very human
strength it took to keep tryinguntil their bodies were out.
And contemplating this heartwrenching tale, I've come to
recognize that we're all workingto stay connected. It's what
(39:12):
allows us to survive. In thesedivisive times. It's worth
remembering that if we allowrifts to develop between us and
others, if we separate ourselvesfrom the wider community, we all
risk a very painful ruling. Andwe must keep courage keep
fighting against the odds andpress onward, seeking genuine
(39:33):
connection with others. Perhapssomeday, the spirits rumored to
be those of these valiant crewmembers of the lady be good will
find the connection they've beensearching for.
Perhaps by honoring theirsacrifice, we can show that
they've not been forgotten thattheir young lives full of
(39:55):
devotion to a cause larger thanthemselves, still serves
As an example for us all.
God bless our veterans andactive duty military of the
past, present, and future.
This concludes today's episodeon the United States Air Force
(40:18):
Museum in Dayton, Ohio. I hopeyou've enjoyed it. If so, please
consider rating reviewing andsubscribing to Ohio folklore on
your chosen podcast platform.
You can find Ohio folklore atOhio folklore.com And on
Facebook. If you'd like to helpothers find the show. Please
consider writing a review onApple podcasts.
(40:43):
And as always, keep wondering
Hello and welcome to Ohio folklore. I'm your host
Melissa Davies. Today, we'reexploring one venerable Ohio
institution that stands as theoldest and largest military
aviation museum in the world.
More than a million visitorspass through its doors every
year to marvel at the historycontained within. They come to
(00:27):
see famed aircraft, spanningfrom the early fliers of the
Wright brothers to today's mostadvanced nuclear armed
supersonic bombers.
They come to walk in the stepsof former presidents as they
step aboard retired Air Forceones. They come to see the
Apollo 15 Command Module, whichonce orbited the moon 74 times,
(00:53):
they come to lay eyes on the oneand only Memphis Belle. While
she wants helped defeat NaziGermany. She now rests in glory,
a testament to what we canachieve, not only in aviation,
but in the cause for freedom.
The reason so many of us visitthis hallowed space are too
(01:14):
numerous to count. With acurrent capacity of more than 1
million square feet, one canspend days perusing exhibits of
monumental importance. All thisand admission is free.
What a jewel we have in thismuseum. All are welcome. All can
come wonder at how learning tofly changed us as a people. It
(01:39):
changed the way we traveled andthe way we fought wars. It
changed our perspective on theworld, bringing faraway lands to
within a day or twos journeyamong the clouds.
I'm talking about the NationalMuseum of the United States Air
Force in Dayton, Ohio.
(02:04):
Many Ohioans have visited theNational Museum more than once.
With so much to see it's nowonder so many visitors or
repeat guests, yet for a smallnumber of people, including
visitors, staff and volunteers,some folks bear witness to
strange and inexplicableexperiences. It seems certain
(02:25):
exhibits about a half dozenretain a kind of spiritual
energy. But unexplained noises,moans and whispers emanate from
the still craft. mysteriouslights hover and sway.
Once the busyness of crowds diesdown at the museum's close each
(02:46):
day, and the lights are turnedlow. night guards and cleaning
crew are prone to catchingglimpses of transparent figures.
Some seated in cockpits, otherswandering the cavernous spaces.
The claims of ghostly sightingsare many they span decades. Like
(03:08):
most folktales these spiritsstories carry deep emotional
impact. They offer painfullessons and direction for our
own life's journeys.
Let's start our introduction tothis monumental location by
hearing from an expert in allthings haunted and our great
(03:29):
state. Since at least the early90s Chris Woodard has held the
title of one of Ohio's mostbeloved authors of ghost tales,
many of you undoubtedly devouredher five volume series called
haunted Ohio.
It remains the quintessentialreference on ghostly Ohio lore.
(03:50):
She was born and raised in theColumbus area, but now has lived
in Dayton for many years. She iswhat you might call a sensitive,
having had unexplained spiritualexperiences throughout her life.
How lucky for us that shedecided to share them through
her writings. You can check outall her works at haunted Ohio
(04:11):
books.com.
Her enthusiasm for what mayexist beyond the veil is deep
and abiding. Luckily, she agreedto an interview for today's
episode.
Come hear her story.
I was so thrilled to see yourlittle excerpts on the United
(04:35):
States Air Force Museum there inDayton. And if I understand
right, you are a local today.
Yes. Yeah. Okay, maybe that addsa little more significance to
them. Yeah, a little bit,although I never go there.
I don't like it. It's notcomfortable. Yeah, I think I had
(04:56):
read that. So it really gives usdifficult vibe.
Are you there? Very much. Soas one woman, the one woman who
took me through when I did thefirst, I wrote it in haunted
Ohio to I wrote a chapter on theghosts at the Air Force Museum.
And she said, these arewarbirds.
(05:17):
There's 1000s of hands haspassed through, you know, around
these machines, or there's beendeaths or there's been injuries.
It's got to leave a mark. Soit's a very uncomfortable place.
Yeah. And even in comparison tothe many locations you've done
to you would say, well, it's theit's the kind of play. I mean,
(05:40):
there's a lot of places thatmake me uncomfortable.
Collingwood Art Center, the OhioState Reformatory, those are
sort of the tops of my terrorlist. Because they make me so
tired and uncomfortable. But Irealized, just Yes, come and
they want to go to the museum,you know, so I would be game and
I go along, and then I'd comeout and I would just be an
(06:00):
absolute wreck for the next dayor two. Like I was just having a
life sucked out of me. And Irealized that was the problem.
It was just extremely draining.
So I won't go back there.
There's no reason for me to goback. People couldn't go enjoy
it without me. Yeah. Well, youknow, I wonder and this is kind
(06:21):
of my own musings here. But ifyou think about the reformatory,
which of course was a prison forso many years,
the kind of emotions that peoplehave. Sure. And and also, you
know, a lot of the the historyand the tragedy attached to so
many objects at the museum, Icould understand how that could
(06:41):
relate back when, exactly,you're the worst place for me
was near the pow exhibit.
Again, the woman who brought meinto walkthrough place was I
think, she said, I think theworst place is and I stopped her
and I said, let's see if I canfeel it myself. You know, so I
(07:01):
was walking around by myself,and it was just awful. And I
couldn't. I was like, walkinginto sort of the air sickening.
Very, very dire. And then Ivaguely saw that this was the
case about exhibits andartifacts from POW camps. And
(07:22):
it's like, ah, that's the spot.
That's the problem. Okay,that's, that's one of the worst
places and then the lady be goodexhibits, also had a similar
problem there. This was a theplane that crashed in the Libyan
desert, right. And the men triedto walk out and failed and
perish. There's some thoughtthat they thought they were
(07:46):
seeing water beneath them, whenthey landed in the desert, they
saw the dunes as water. Sothere's just a bit of the plane
there. But it's when you walk upto it, it was like stepping over
what I would call a circle ofinfluence, you know, you've
suddenly got into this areawhere you can feel something
from the plane remnant.
(08:09):
The terrorism mens last moments,or just the terror of crashing.
There's so much emotion attachedto airplanes, aviators get
really attached to their planes.
Even if something has beentorn apart or pieced together. I
know during the Second WorldWar, at least they would we use
it as planes in other planes torepair them. So you just wonder
(08:33):
what was left over. When thathappened, you know, when it was
put together.
So with the lady Bidgoodexhibit, in particular, what you
experienced was kind of visceralsensation, very visceral, it's,
it's sometimes feels like beingpunched in the stomach.
(08:56):
Sometimes it feels likeelectricity, or running into a
brick wall in the dark or havingsomething fly out of the grass
into your face unexpectedly.
It's really startling. And you'dthink I'd be used to it by now.
But I'm not. I was scared ofghosts when I was a child. And I
guess I sort of got into this asa form of aversion therapy.
(09:19):
It hasn't worked. I'm stillafraid of them. But I'm mostly
retired from going out toplaces. It's only by accident.
You know, if I were before COVIDAs I were visiting a historic
site or something, I mightnotice something but I've
retired from actually visitingpeople's homes or historic sites
(09:39):
that when they've asked me tocome in, okay, because it's
taxing, essential draining todraining. I have had several
friends say that their healthimproved after they stopped
doing this work. And I can seewhy because it's you're pumping
adrenaline you're pumpingcortisol Everything is on alert.
(10:03):
Going back to the museum thatyou mentioned the lady be good
exhibits, of course. Were thereany other exhibits that stand
out in your memory? Yeah, theblack Mariah, a helicopter that
was in Vietnam. Uh huh. Painteddead flat black. And apparently,
she flew a lot of classifiedmissions that we still don't
(10:24):
know a lot about. Butcopters there, you can see the
bullet holes patched all overher. There's just hundreds of
patches all over the skin. Andsometimes you can see the pilot
sitting in the seat. I think hejust again doesn't know he's
dead. Is a very grimartifact, if you will. The
(10:45):
helicopters very dark. It's gota dark aura around it. It's
darkness within. And it's justnot someplace I would want to be
around. Okay, so pretty negativeenergy, very negative.
And, as I say, we do not knowwhat went on. Although we do
(11:09):
know that some people wereferried back, you know, people
who were injured were beingferried by this machine. So?
Yeah, so they weren't able, asfar as you know, they weren't
able to identify the identity ofthis pilot that that scene? No,
and, and I was there with one ofthe historians from the museum.
(11:32):
So they said, No, a lot of thisstuff is still classified, and
it'll be classified for another50 years or so. Oh, okay. So I
don't know anything about howthat works in terms of, you
know, military classifications,but I guess they can keep things
secret as fun as they want to.
I've had some good fortune toconnect with a former security
(11:54):
officerwho's now retired that he's
confirmed a lot of similarthings to what you've described,
including the lady be goodexhibit and the black Mariah,
among some others, the boxcarcar yeah, the little children
seen playing little boy seenrunning around the base. And
then other guards said that theywould come around the corner end
(12:16):
of the month modern flightGallery, and there'd be a whole
group of Asian children playingin the hall.
Terrifying.
Oh, I know, to think.
Yeah, it's hard to fathom.
But he had also shared thatsometimes, you know, he can see
he could see details of theapparitions, including the
(12:39):
helmet,details of the youth, the
uniforms they'd be wearing.
And the other interesting thingthat he shared, which I haven't
read anywhere else was the GlennMiller exhibit. Oh, that it's
known that it emanates big bandmusic. Oh, no, that is new to
me, too. I thought that was abright spot of, you know,
(13:02):
positive energy in the midst ofright.
Yeah, yeah. There's not much,much happy. Many happy ghosts
there.
That's, that's interesting. Ididn't realize that one.
They used to be very, verycautious about telling people
(13:22):
about ghosts over there. Theywere I did a TV show locally,
and the PR lady had to follow usaround and make sure we didn't
say anything too awful. Andwe're finishing up and up walks
this immense man guard inuniform and he's armed. He's
like, you're the ghost lady.
Right? And I said, Yeah, aswell. I want to tell you, when
(13:44):
I'm here by myself at night, theintercoms come on by themselves
and I go and lock myself in theoffice. Or the PR lady is not
want to hear that. Ohjust spoil the whole thing,
because she had just momentsbefore said, Oh, no, I don't
think there's anything there'sno ghosts here. Okay.
(14:08):
Seriously, she has reasons forthat. And, you know, shying away
visitors or something, butRight. That was how they used to
be, but it's been on, you know,some of the ghost hunting shows
they've gotten a lot morepublicity. Yeah, that so I think
that more likely draw morepeople than then shy them away
personally, but yes, exactly. MyGod. Do you have any guesses? I
(14:32):
know, this is a stretch kind ofa fair question. But any
thoughts on what the lingeringspirits what their message might
be or what their dilemma mightbe that this kept them in the in
the building? As I think as Isaid, you know, aviators do get
(14:53):
very attached to their planes,and I could see some young
aviator you know, this isHe was young and he was killed.
And this is the only place hehad a good time. You know, this
was a good place for him. Sohe's going to stay
choosing to stay. I can also seepeople not realizing they're
(15:14):
dead. And and just being stoppedlike the helicopter pilot
saying, hey, if I just lose thestick once more, I'll find my
way back. Which I feel verysorry for ones that you know
they're lost.
Lost, it's a feeling most of uscan relate to at some point in
(15:37):
our lives. It's that feeling ofdisconnection and lone sadness,
one of the worst emotions any ofus can go through. Whether
you're a child wandering theaisles of a supermarket,
searching for a distractedparent, or whether you're a
hiker who's lost a cell signal,weigh in whether or not you've
passed this tree before.
(15:59):
Feeling lost starts with amoment of awful realization,
followed by a sometimesdesperate and forlorn effort to
reconnect.
This most painful of emotionsums up one of the saddest and
most gripping tales connected tothis museum. We're going to dive
deep into a very real historicaldrama, and examine its ties to
(16:23):
ghostly sightings at the place.
When I came across thisparticular account in my
research, my heart sank oncontemplating these young man's
ultimate sacrifice for ourcountry. As we approach Veterans
Day on November 11, let usremember the selfless efforts of
countless men and women throughthe centuries who gave all they
(16:44):
had to protect our way of life.
As I mentioned earlier, Iconnected with the former
security guard of the museum.
While he declined an audiointerview, not wanting the
attention that might bring hewas quite eager to share details
of this many unexplainableencounters. During several years
station they're disembodied bigband music would often waft from
(17:07):
the Glenn Miller's exhibit,which contain many instruments,
uniforms, and other objects fromhis days entertaining troops.
Mystery figures manifestedaround the boxcars massive front
tire, this B 29 bomber haddropped the second atomic bomb
on Nagasaki, effectively endingthe war.
(17:33):
The pow exhibit was known foreerie sounds, and heavy gut
wrenching emotional impacts forunsuspecting visitors.
The retired security guardexplained that whenever he would
approach it ghostly figure,they'd usually evaporate before
he could get too close for abetter inspection. However, I'll
(17:54):
never forget a handful ofoccasions when he'd been lucky
enough to catch a glimpse of ahelmet, laced boots, and
fatigues, before the visionwould disappear completely.
Spotting a full bodiedapparition is often considered
the holy grail of Ghost Huntersaround the world. This gentleman
(18:16):
said he'd seen them many timesover.
His time spent working at themuseum changed him, it opened
his mind to the world beyond ourown. He is certain that
something of who we are todaylives on after our earthly
demise.
What struck me as even moreintriguing, however, were his
(18:39):
claims that full bodiedapparitions were most often
spotted around the lady be goodexhibit.
In fact, he'd seen them oftenenough to recognize when an
apparition had wandered from theexhibit itself, down a wide Hall
and into other areas of themuseum all together. Some number
(19:00):
of this group of men, all ofwhom lost their lives in the
Libyan desert, seem to roam thehalls and massive exhibit spaces
of our treasured United StatesAir Force Museum.
Assuming these manifestationsmust bring forth from some
compelling story, wrought withunresolved throws of emotion, I
(19:22):
decided to dig deep into what Icould learn of the history. What
I found there was more heartwrenching than I could have
imagined.
It gave me a deeper appreciationfor the selfless sacrifice these
men made for the cause offreedom.
Come here their heartbreakingstory, as gathered from
(19:45):
historical documents.
The lady be good was what'sknown as a B 24 D liberator, a
lumbering tank of an aircraft,which carried heavy payloads
over access territory.
are working to pound the enemyinto submission. Her eager crew
(20:05):
of nine young men had beendesperate to join the fight.
They'd only just arrived inLibya in March 1943. Within a
week, they'd been assigned theirfirst and only combat mission to
cross the Mediterranean as oneof 28 bombers, and pound the
living daylights out of militarytargets in Naples, Italy.
(20:31):
When the group took off from theLibyan base at 145 in the
afternoon, they flew straightinto a massive sandstorm.
Lumbering slowly upwards, Ladybe good would eventually rise
above the weather, wherevisibility improved
considerably. For a timehowever, the crew thought they
might end up fighting themission alone, as many of her
(20:54):
fellow bombers aboard admissionwhen the blowing sand disabled
their engines, rendering thempowerless to fly above the
storm. So many bombers had tolimp their way back to base, not
lady be good. She would fly onacross the sea, along with only
about six of the originalSquadron, but then suddenly went
(21:17):
only 30 miles south of target inNaples. She turned back, she had
been the last of the six to doso. The weather had delayed them
so much that the sun had set,blanketing the landscape beneath
them in darkness, without theaccuracy of a visual target.
First Lieutenant William Hattonelected to abort the mission, a
(21:40):
decision which most certainlysaved the lives of innocent
Italian civilians.
By 1110 That evening, all butone of the bombers had returned
safely. I'll be at mostlydisabled to the US Army base and
Libya. Lady be good, neverreturned.
(22:00):
She had made no distress call.
As the hour slipped by one afterthe other, all assumed she'd
suffered trouble over water andcrashed into the sea. She and
her crew relisted Mia, assumedlost to the waves.
For 15 years, the tale of whathappened to her remained a
(22:23):
mystery. The family members ofher crew were left with no
explanation of the final momentsof their mission.
And that's where the story wouldhave remained yet today. If it
weren't for the accidentaldiscovery of the planes wreckage
by a British oil explorationteam in November 1958. She'd
(22:45):
been found 440 miles inland, farfar away from the deep recesses
of the Mediterranean Sea.
On this day, the stifling 135degree heat rising from the
desert sands, one group ofexplorers happened upon one of
the most baffling world war twomysteries of that era.
(23:08):
She'd been nearly perfectlypreserved with no indications of
flak or machine gun damage. Onlyher fuselage had been broken off
near the tail. It whereas if thelady be good, had made a
graceful belly landing, glidingalong the sandy surface of the
remote Libyan desert. There shehad rested, undisturbed for 15
(23:30):
years. Inside the cruise fleecelined suits worn at freezing
high altitudes, hung neatly androse water cans remained full.
Coffee had been brewed, and wasstill drinkable, inside thermos
jugs.
All around the site, and alldirections as far as the eye
(23:52):
could see was nothing but barrendunes, some towering 600 feet,
blowing and shifting with thewinds. There was no vegetation,
no animals, nothing but natureat its barest.
The discovery of the craftitself had only deepened the
mystery of the fate of her youngcrew.
(24:16):
Although the battery had beendrained, the aircraft's radio
was in perfect working order. Adesert survival kit, along with
many MRE rations had been leftuntouched. The navigators table
offered a few tantalizing clues.
an ashtray on top of itcontained buts from cigarettes,
fully smoked at the bottom.
(24:39):
Yet near the top of the pile,were many half smoke cigarettes,
reflecting the growingnervousness of a navigator
unsure of their location,believing the distant uniform
surface below them weren't sanddunes, but the ebbs and flows of
waves in an angry sea.
(25:00):
It was assumed that once thelady be good began losing
altitude due to exhausting orfuel, that the lot of them
bailed out over what theyexpected to be the Mediterranean
Sea. What surprise awaited themwhen their feet found the
ancient sands of the Libyandesert, their plane. Now a
(25:21):
ghostly image of itself withoutour crew flew on alone, before
making an almost perfect bellylanding, and one of the most
desolate regions on our planet.
Immediately after discoveringthe wreckage in 1958, an
exploration group commenced asearch for the crews human
(25:44):
remains in desperate hopes offinding and bringing the
servicemen home. For threemonths search party after search
party come to this 1000 squaremiles section of the desert,
known by locals as cursed byAllah Himself.
Those souls lost there do notreturn. They are not found.
(26:07):
A large number of the searchparty believe the same fate
would come to the original Nineman crew. Perhaps they would
forever remain where they hadfallen.
The first sign of their finalresting places was revealed 18
miles north of the wreckagesite, a civilian member of the
search party discovered a pairof flying boots lying beside a
(26:30):
barely discernible trail. Thisled the team to a half dozen
parachutes, indicating that themen had managed to gather
together after bailing out thesmall remnants of a trail led
the team further north, wherethe dunes grew taller and into
an even greater expanse of theunforgiving desert.
(26:52):
heartbreakingly had to doomedcrew headed south instead of
North. They'd have only had oneday's walk to arrive at lady
goods, largely intact carcasswith her working radio and food
and water rations.
But having no way of knowing howfar the plane had flown, and in
(27:13):
what direction, they decided tohead north to what they believed
would be the sea. They had noidea they were 400 miles into a
barren and merciless desert.
With no hats to shield them fromthe sun, and half a canteen of
water. They marched onward,various search efforts would go
(27:37):
on in the years to come in hopesof somehow coming across the
crews bodily remains.
Remarkably, in February 1960,members of another British oil
exploration team found theremains of five of the nine crew
members.
They were located a remarkable85 miles north of the crash
(27:59):
site. The remains were foundgrouped together along with some
small personal effects. Amongthose effects were diaries kept
by co pilot Lieutenant Roberttoner and Flight Engineer Harold
rip slinger. They detailed theirdesperate attempts at survival
from April 5 through April12 1943.
(28:24):
They filled in details thatcould have been known no other
way. These words are preciousand tragic to read. But it puts
us there with them. And it mightshed light as to the tumultuous
despair they surely confronted.
Come here and Lieutenant Roberttoners final words
(28:47):
Sunday April 4 1943.
Naples 28 planes things prettywell mixed up got lost returning
out of gas jumped landed indesert at two o'clock in the
morning. No one badly hurt canfind John. All others present.
(29:10):
Monday started walking Northweststill no John. A few rations,
half a canteen of water. one capfull per day. Sun fairly warm,
good breeze from Northwest nightvery cold, no sleep, rested and
walkedTuesday rested at 1130 Sun very
(29:32):
warm, no breeze spent pm inHell, no planes etc. Rested
until 5pm walked and rested allnight. 15 minutes on five off
Wednesday. Same routine.
Everyone getting weak. Can't getvery far. Prayers all the time.
(30:00):
Again pm very warm hell can'tsleep. Everyone sore from
ground.
Thursday. Hit sand dunes verymiserable. Good wind but
continuous blowing of sand.
Everyone now very weak. ThoughtSam and more. We're all gone.
Lamotte eyes are gone. Everyoneelse's eyes are bad. Still going
(30:22):
Northwest.
Friday.
Shelley rip and more separateand try to go for help. Rest of
Us All very weak eyes bad. Notany travel. All want to die.
Still very little water. Nightsare about 35 Good. Northwind no
(30:45):
shelter. One parachute left.
Saturday. Still having prayermeetings for help. No signs of
anything. A couple of birds.
Goodwin from north. really weaknow can't walk. pains all over.
Still all want to die.
Nights very cold. No sleep.
(31:09):
Sunday. Still waiting for help.
still praying eyes bad. lost allour weight, aching all over.
could make it if we had water,just enough left to put our
tongue to have hope for helpvery soon. No rest still same
place.
(31:29):
Monday, April 12 1943. No helpyet. cold night.
This was his final entry.
With only half a canteen ofwater among them they had set
out and what would have been upto 130 degree heat and a futile
(31:50):
attempt to find help.
At 1.5 Of the eight reachedexhaustion, leaving the
remaining three to pursue onwardthrough a haze of delirium and
indescribable pain.
In May 1960, the remains of oneof those three men guys shellye
were found another 21 milesnorth of the site, where the
(32:14):
five crew men had been found.
And only five days later, asearch team would find another
of the group of three. FlightEngineer Harold rip slinger, had
made it another 26 miles furthernorth. He'd walked in total 132
miles from where he firstlanded, drinking practically no
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water along the way.
The search efforts were againwrapped up at this point in late
May 1960 depressingly to membersremains had not been found. And
interestingly enough, these twocrew men had been the only ones
to hail from the great state ofOhio. In special tribute to
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their lives and tragic deaths.
I'm presenting their storieshere.
Second Lieutenant John s forvaca was the crews 24 year old
Bombardier from Cleveland. Hewas a graduate of John Adams
high school and had worked as ariveter with the champion Revit
company before enlisting in thearmy air corps.
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He was the one crew member whodid not rendezvous with the
others when the wreck occurred.
His remains would be discovered16 miles northwest at the
wreckage site and August 1960 byanother British oil team.
The configuration of theparachute found along with him,
suggested that it did not openproperly on his descent. He died
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instantly on impacting theground. His canteen was still
three quarters of the way fullwith pristine bacteria free
water.
His fellow crew members, all ofwhom survived the initial
bailout would come together onlya half mile to the southwest of
where were vaca. His remainswere eventually discovered. It
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seems his faulty parachute endedup saving him the torturous and
slow deaths of his colleagues.
His remains were flown toFrankfurt, Germany, where an
army mortician positivelyidentified the corpse as that
belonging to Lieutenant werevaca.
When reporters from theCleveland Plain Dealer first
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learned if the discovery theyfound Lieutenant Werbach his
brother, Alex were vaca andinformed him of the positive
identification. Although thefamily had held out hope that he
would one day return. After 17years of being missing an
action, his family expressedrelief that they were finally
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bringing him home.
The remains of the other crewmember staff sergeant Vernon
moreare officially still missing.
This 20 year old air gunner wasthe only member whose remains
could not formally beidentified. However, a
historical review of BritishArmy records dating to 1953
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showed that a patrol unit cameupon an identifiable human
remains directly proximate towhere the last two members would
be identified much later.
1953 was five years before thelady be good wreckage itself had
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even been found.
Assuming the corpse theydiscovered belong to some
wayfaring. Local lost to thedesert sands. The army unit
buried it documented theirfinding, and one about their
business. An investigation ofthe incident was reopened in
2001 and concluded that the sizeof the skeletal remains match
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that a sergeant more the youngman who held from New Boston,
Ohio, on the Ohio River.
He'd been one of the three crewmembers who'd hiked the farthest
after the first five fell victimto the worst nature could give.
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If you go to visit the museumfor yourself, and I sincerely
hope you do, you'll find theexhibit dedicated to the men who
so tragically lost their younglives on this their first combat
mission. After the wreck wasdiscovered, numerous parts from
the lady be good were returnedto the US for technical study.
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In addition, some parts wereinstalled and other aircraft.
Coincidentally, some of thosecraft suffered difficulties,
including the crash of an armyouter aeroplane, which took the
lives of all 10 men aboard.
The exhibit at Dayton's UnitedStates Air Force Museum contains
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original parts of the plane,including a wheel from its
landing gear, a propeller, ahelmet, and an unused canteen.
Also included are many photosand other documents of the Rex
original discovery and theexhaustive search to find the
missing crew members and bringthem home.
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were drawn to the sprawlingmuseum for many reasons, lots of
people go to see militaryaviation at its best to witness
the progression and technologythrough the decades. And to
marvel at what we'veaccomplished and learning to
harness the wind.
Many come to pay tribute to thecountless men and women who lost
their lives in those efforts,whether in the early stages of
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building and designing the firstaircraft, or those who died in
combat efforts while a countrywas at war.
A growing number of visitorscome after hearing rumors of
otherworldly happenings at theplace. Ghosts tourism is a kind
of industry that's been growingsteadily since the advent of
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paranormal reality shows. WhileI'm sure a certain number of
people come to the museum forthis reason, I hope that once
they get there, they findanother perhaps even deeper
purpose for going whether or notghost loving visitors find
spirits among these movingexhibits. I hope they discover
the power of the stories behindthem.
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If we're to believe that spiritswe call ghosts, our souls lost
between worlds, then perhaps atragedy such as the wreckage of
the lady be good exemplifieswhat it means to be lost,
separated from the rest ofhumanity in an unforgiving
climate. These men didn't giveup. They went on searching,
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trying to reconnect with therest of us. Their ultimate
inability to do so shouldn'tovershadow the very human
strength it took to keep tryinguntil their bodies were out.
And contemplating this heartwrenching tale, I've come to
recognize that we're all workingto stay connected. It's what
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allows us to survive. In thesedivisive times. It's worth
remembering that if we allowrifts to develop between us and
others, if we separate ourselvesfrom the wider community, we all
risk a very painful ruling. Andwe must keep courage keep
fighting against the odds andpress onward, seeking genuine
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connection with others. Perhapssomeday, the spirits rumored to
be those of these valiant crewmembers of the lady be good will
find the connection they've beensearching for.
Perhaps by honoring theirsacrifice, we can show that
they've not been forgotten thattheir young lives full of
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devotion to a cause larger thanthemselves, still serves
As an example for us all.
God bless our veterans andactive duty military of the
past, present, and future.
This concludes today's episodeon the United States Air Force
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Museum in Dayton, Ohio. I hopeyou've enjoyed it. If so, please
consider rating reviewing andsubscribing to Ohio folklore on
your chosen podcast platform.
You can find Ohio folklore atOhio folklore.com And on
Facebook. If you'd like to helpothers find the show. Please
consider writing a review onApple podcasts.
(40:43):
And as always, keep wondering
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