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Red-tailed Hawk guides explorers to a World War Two bomber crash site
Investigation of a Martin Marauder TB-26C crash site in the Huron National Forest
By Dave Trojan, Crash Explorer

Oscoda resident Milton Clouse told his two nephews Kenneth and Roger Clouse
a story in1999 about an incident that happened to the small town of Glennie Michigan during World War Two. He said that on November 3rd, 1944 when he was attending school in Glennie all the students were distracted by the noise of a low flying airplane. The students at Glennie School rushed to the widows to see what was happening. What they saw they would never forget. A twin engine bomber, later identified as a Martin Marauder TB-26C, was observed to dive from an altitude of about 1000 feet to an altitude of only about 200 feet above the ground, pull out, and start a gradual climb. The
bomber flew low over the top of the Glennie School House. It then climbed to an altitude of about 400 feet where it then started to raise its right wing and was seen to roll over on its back and crash almost vertically into the Huron National Forest only about three miles north of town. The plane crash sent a big column of black smoke and flames about 150 feet into the air.

The plane exploded upon hitting the ground near a truck-trail fire break,
scattering wreckage 600 feet in all directions and burned completely. Forestry service workers and firefighters immediately went out to the crash site to find the plane completely destroyed with parts of the plane caught in trees 50 feet above the ground and a large fire burning. Fires started by the crash burned over three acres before the fire was brought under control. The pilot and crew were killed instantly. Three bodies were found lying 300 feet from where the plane struck the ground. The horrors of World War Two had come to this small Michigan town and the memories of that day would never be forgotten by the people who witnessed the tragedy.

The Martin Marauder TB-26C, serial number 41-35182 aircraft was assigned to the 1st Air Force, 134 AAF Base Air Squadron (BAS) Unit. It flew from OAAF, Oscoda Michigan, which was then a satellite of Selfridge Air Force Base Mount Clemens Michigan. The TB-26C twin engine bomber had all its gun turrets, bombing gear and other combat equipment removed from the aircraft turning it into a trainer. During World War Two detachments of B-26s were sent to various state side bases to tow targets for aerial gunnery practice and to provide air crew training.

The flight that day had begun for pilot 1st Lt. Roy E Yturria at 10:15 in the
morning from OAAF Oscoda Michigan for a routine training flight. The scheduled flight was a transition mission for an aerial engineer which was used to familiarize engineers with the equipment they would be using and its position in the B-26 aircraft. A total of three engineers were aboard the bomber that day for training. They were S/Sgt Donald W. Jaton, S/Sgt Willis A. Dunn and S/Sgt Emanuel Mokol. One of the three engineers would have been an experienced instructor aboard to train the other two. The weather
at the time had winds out of the SSW at 18 MPH with light gusts and the visibility was eight miles. Something started to go wrong only ten minutes into the flight as they flew west North West over the small town of Glennie Michigan. The B-26 was not an aircraft for novices. Unfortunately, due to the need of training pilots and aircrews quickly for the war, the USAAF was forced to put relatively inexperienced pilots and crews into the cockpit and the accident rate increased accordingly. Lots of pilots could fly the B-26 as
long as things were going well. It was when things got unexpectedly exciting that one needed the practice and experience to successfully deal with them in the B-26 Marauder.

No facts could be derived from the examination of the wreckage except that the engines were apparently turning at full power when the plane hit. The accident investigation board was unable to determine the cause of the accident. It is believed that the most probable cause of this accident was some kind of left engine failure which inevitably led to a stall with the pilot unable to regain control. When a pilot has an engine failure in a twin engine aircraft he must act quickly to counter the effects, because the aircraft tends to yaw and roll into the bad engine and it can eventually roll
upside down.

After hearing the story of the accident, the two nephews determined to locate the crash site. They researched the local news and obtained a copy of the official accident report and other documents. Unfortunately, all efforts to locate the site failed until one day during casual conversation with Glennie town folk one of the nephews happened to mention that they were looking for the crash site. A part time seasonal resident said he knew exactly where the site was because he played at the wreck site as a small child.
He guided the nephews to the crash site in the summer of 2003. There they found a divot in the side of a small hill caused by the impact of the plane where the engines had burrowed into the ground. Aircraft debris was also discovered that confirmed the crash site. The nephews wanted to place a memorial at the crash site, but were turned down by the Forestry Service.

I heard about their discovery and efforts through the grape vine and became very interested in the story because I was from Michigan. My opportunity came in July 2010 to travel to the area and attempt to relocate the site. I contacted the nephews who offered to take me to the crash site. Upon arrival to the area, I found out that they had not been to the crash site in many years and were unsure exactly where it was located in the thick forest. During the search, I spotted a silver grey object lying in the brush. I kicked it only to discover that it was a hornet’s nest that had fallen out of a tree. I ran
away from that area as quickly as I could. We searched for over two hours before the nephews had to leave without finding the site, but before they left a baby fledging Redtailed Hawk, about three months old, taking his first flight flew down from his nest and landed next to our vehicles. We did not take too much notice because we were too busy searching up and down the forest. A Forest Service truck happened along and noticed the fledging Red-tailed Hawk in the road and stopped to give assistance. Forestry personnel gently moved the baby fledging Red-tailed Hawk off the side of the road and
into the forest as the mother Red-tailed Hawk soared and circled overhead. The Forest Service personnel did not know anything about the plane crash site, but they did confirm that we were looking in the right section of the forest.

Another crash explorer and I were left alone searching the thick forest area when I remembered that the report stated that the plane had crashed on top of a small hill. I followed my intuition and looked for a slight raise in the terrain. Near the top of a small hill was the unmistakable ground scar of the impact site covered by layers of branches and leaves. A quick check with a metal detector confirmed the site had metal scattered all around. We were able to uncover several foot long pieces of aircraft debris and a chunk of radio equipment to confirm the site. Looking 50 feet up into a tree above the
impact site was a Red-tailed Hawk nest high in the forks of a large oak tree overlooking and guarding the crash site where the baby fledging Red-tailed Hawk had come from. Hawk nests are often used by the hawks year after year for many years and may have been there for generations of hawks. I like to think that the spirit of the crew had guided us to the crash site using the fledging Red-tailed Hawk. As the crash debris slowly sinks into the ground and memories fade away, the story of the tragedy may one day be forgotten. However, with new information about federal regulations, a enewed effort is underway to place an interpretive sign near the crash site to ensure that the sacrifices of the four men are remembered forever.