The Army counted five dead today, 05 March 1943, removed from the charred wreckage of a B-17 bomber which crashed into Mount Elden near the San Francisco peaks and rocked the wilderness with a terrific explosion early Thursday morning.
The aircraft left the Army airbase at Blythe, California, a few hours before on a routine flight.
Base public relations officers listed the dead as:
First Officer Keith O. Martin, Jr., 22, Columbus, S. C., pilot.
Second Lt. Ralph Eugene Majors, 23, Canton, O., copilot.
Second Lt. Frederick Christian Ruhl, 23, Pittsburgh, Pa., copilot.
Tech. Sgt. Walter H. Ehlers, 29, Ogaliala, Neb., engineer.
Tech. Sgt. Robert E. Sanford, 22, Natchez, Miss., radioman.
Army authorities flew to the scene late yesterday and identified the bodies removed from the debris by Sheriff Perry Francis' searching party.
Shortly after the plane plummeted to earth residents within 50 miles of the spot reported a wooded strip of the mountainside had caught fire and flames were plainly visible.
An Army board is investigating cause of the accident.
Tucson Daily Citizen Arizona 06 March 1943