By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
Nearly 75 years ago, a B-17 “Flying Fortress” bomber crashed during a snowstorm in Nelson, NY.
On Oct. 19, the Erieville-Nelson Heritage Society (ENHS) commemorated the incident with a private event held at the approximate location of the crash.
The B-17 took off from Hendricks Field, near Sebring, Florida, on a training flight to Stewart Field (today Stewart International Airport) in Orange County, New York on Jan. 16, 1945.
According to a 2018 article by Madison County Historian Matthew Urtz — who has researched the event extensively — the flight was diverted from its original destination due to treacherous conditions.
Before a secondary airfield could be located, the plane lost radio contact and ran out of gas.
Shortly before 1 p.m., residents of the Village of Cazenovia heard the plane overhead.
Not long after, the pilot, Lieutenant Alfred Kramer gave the trainees the order to “abandon ship.”
The first serviceman to jump was Lieutenant Charles F. Blanke, a decorated bombardier who flew over 50 missions in the European Theater and earned an Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters during WWII.
Tragically, Blanke’s parachute never opened; his remains were later discovered on a hill on the A.W. Hughes farm, roughly a mile from the crash site.
Seven other passengers — Lieutenant Coleman Sanders, Lieutenant R.E. Andresen, Captain Norman Biddulph, Lieutenant Howard F Amrhein, Staff Sergeant T.M. Cox and Private Michael M. Wall — successfully parachuted to safety.
Two of the parachutists suffered minor injuries, including a cut on the chin and an injured ankle.
Kramer and Lieutenant William M. Boothby went down with the plane, landing near the farm of Edward Putnam, roughly one mile north of Route 20 near Putnam Road.
Kramer — who helped guide the plane to the ground — suffered a stomach injury during the crash and was treated in Cazenovia by Dr. S.H. Raymond.
The survivors made their way to the Nelson Inn before eventually being taken to Rome Army Air Depot.
First on the scene were the state police, who marked off the area and oversaw the initial investigation. An Army Board of Inquiry from the Air Depot conducted further investigation into the event.
Prior to the accident, the B-17 had completed over 30 missions overseas.
During the crash, the plane suffered only slight damages such as bent propellers, according to eyewitnesses.
Ultimately, the plane was dismantled and removed from the scene.
Blanke was born in Missouri on Aug. 9, 1920. He joined the Army Air Corp in March 1943 and trained at the Santa Ana Army Base in California. After serving in the European theatre, Blanke returned to the US and was assigned to Hendricks Field.
Following his death, his remains were returned to St. Louis; he is buried in Resurrection Cemetery in Affton, Missouri.
Kramer, now 99 years old, is the last remaining survivor of the 1945 crash.
The Oct. 19 memorial featured an aerial drone capturing the overhead view of the crash site; flags marking the B-17 wingspan; recounts of the day’s events from individuals who were present at the time; and remarks by ENHS member Kevin Kennedy — who proposed and helped organize the event — and Kramer’s nephew Charles “Chase” Sebor.
Also in attendance were Urtz, Nelson Town Supervisor Roger Bradstreet, Village of Cazenovia Chief of Police Michael Hayes, several ENHS members, the property owners, the Fenner and Nelson town historians, and members of the media.
“I’m more from the Vietnam era,” said Sebor. “ . . . People came back from serving in Vietnam and were disrespected tremendously. So now, to see that turn, to see people remember an [event] from 75 years ago and to come out in dozens to commemorate it really makes me feel good about [my uncle’s] service.”
The January edition of the ENHS newsletter, “Hills and Hollows,” will be dedicated to the 1945 crash.
The publication will feature information gathered by a number of contributors from a variety of sources, including the official government report and photographs, eyewitness accounts, and an interview with Kramer himself.
“There were some funny [discrepancies] in the report,” said ENHS member Tim McLaughlin. “The meteorologist that they consulted said it was moderate snow with some level of visibility . . . but Al Kramer said it was the worst snowstorm he’d ever been in, so there are differences between what was reported and what actually happened. That’s one of the challenges of doing this kind of history. There were various people that heard the plane, but it was difficult for them to agree as to where is went and how it came down, so you have to try to triangulate that . . . It’s really been a challenge to investigate. That’s why it’s so nice to have so many people help try to figure out what really happened.”
Individuals with knowledge or recollections of the event are encouraged to contact the society.
Formed in 1984, ENHS is dedicated to discovering, collecting and preserving historical records and other data relating to the Erieville and Nelson area, and to making the information available to the public.
To learn more about ENHS, visit facebook.com/ErievilleNelsonHeritageSociety/.
