By Matthew Urtz
Madison County Historian
During World War II, Lieutenant Charles F. Blanke, of St. Louis, Missouri, flew over 50 missions in the European Theatre, mostly in Italy. He was a decorated bombardier who had earned an Air Medal and four Oak Leaf Clusters.
It was just over 73 years ago in the Town of Nelson that the B-17 “Flying Fortress” that Blanke was traveling in crashed during a snowstorm so strong that the plane was not allowed to land at its original destination due to treacherous conditions.
The plane crashed on a hill on what was then the farm of Edward Putnam. The story behind the crash, the snow storm and the Bombardier who lost his life are below.
On Jan. 16, 1945, a B-17 bomber took off from Hendricks Field, near Sebring, Fla., on a training flight to Stewart Field (today Stewart International Airport) in Orange County, N.Y. The landing strip for Steward Field was snowed in due to an epic snowstorm. The pilots, Lieutenant William M. Boothby and Lieutenant Alfred Kramer, tried to find a secondary air field but ran out of gas before they were able to find a new field.
Shortly before 1 p.m., the plane was heard overhead by residents of Cazenovia who believed it was struggling. The pilots were probably not aware of where they were exactly or their exact altitude.
Not long after the plane was heard in Cazenovia, the pilots likely gave the order to abandon ship. Blanke was the first man out of the plane, and his parachute never opened due to his close proximity to a hill. His body was found on a hill on the A.W Hughes farm (his hand was still on the ripcord according to those who found him), roughly a mile from where the plane crashed.
Seven others parachuted as well. They included Lieutenant Coleman Sanders, Lieutenant R.E. Andresen, Captain Norman Biddulph, Lieutenant Howard F Amrhein, Staff Sergeant T.M. Cox and Private Michael M. Wall. None of the men had ever “hit the silk” (parachuted out of a plane) prior to this trip.
All of the remaining men survived, Boothby and Cramer stayed with the plane crash landing near the farm of Edward Putnam, roughly one mile north of Route 20 near Nelson (today roughly one mile north of Route 20 near Putnam Road). Kramer suffered a stomach injury during the crash and was treated in Cazenovia by Dr. S.H. Raymond. Two of the parachutists suffered minor injuries (a cut on the chin and an injured ankle).
The men made their way to the Nelson Inn, and the state police oversaw the initial investigation. The State police were the first on the scene and they marked off the area although some local residents were able to get a glimpse. Once the service men were accounted for the men were taken to Rome Army Air Depot. An Army Board of Inquiry from the Air Depot investigated the event.
The plane had flown over 30 missions overseas prior to the accident. It suffered some slight damages during the crash according to eyewitnesses. The propellers were bent and there were small pieces that broke off but for the most part the plan landed in pretty good shape.
To move the plane, it was dismantled. The engines were removed, the wings taken off and the fuselage was to be placed on the back of a truck.
Blanke was born in Missouri on Aug. 9, 1920. He joined the Army Air Corp in March of 1943 and trained at the Santa Ana Army Base in California. Following his time in the European Theatre, Blanke had returned to the U.S. and was assigned to Hendricks Field in Florida.
Following his death, he left behind his parents Charles and Laverne and brothers Laverne and Robert Blanke. His remains were returned to St. Louis and he is buried in Resurrection Cemetery in Affton, Missouri.
Early in 2018, Madison County posted our veterans series online through our website. If you want to see over a dozen current and former residents of Madison County who served during World War II be interviewed, please visit madisoncounty.ny.gov/2183/Madison-County-Interviews.
For more information about Madison County history, contact me via phone is 315-366-2453 or email [email protected]. Don’t forget to like Madison County, NY History on Facebook and visit our website madisoncounty.ny.gov/historian/home.
