In God We Trust
KWE Note: The Veterans Administration's official dates for veterans to receive Korean War time-frame benefits is June 27, 1950 to January 31, 1955. Hence this page of 1955 airplane crashes.
On this date a B-47E (#52-029) collided with B-47 (#51-7006) over Lake Charles, Louisiana during a routine refueling training flight. It crashed into the Gulf of Mexico about 30 miles south of Cameron, Louisiana. B-47 #51-7006 made it back to base safely, but one of the three crew members bailed out and was not found.
Fatalities #52-029:
Crump, Capt. David O. (co-pilot) - He was survived by his wife Marcella, and six children all under the age of eight: David, Phillip, Raymond, Hilda, Eilleen, and Dennis. He was lost at sea. His wife Marcella became a well-known photographer who documented Ajijic life in Mexico.
Eggleston, 1Lt. Rodney Paul (observer) - Lieutenant Eggleston was born in 1928 and was a 1946 graduate of Levelland High School. He entered the Air Force in August of 1950 in his senior year while attending Texas Tech. His wife was Nancy and he was a father. He was lost at sea.
Pierson, Maj. Jean S. (aircraft commander) - From Danville, Indiana, he was lost at sea.
Fatality #51-7006:
Gemery, 1Lt. Matthew (observer) - Lieutenant Gemery was born in 1917. He and his wife Mary D. Gemery (1915-1989) had a daughter, Barbara Sue Gemery (1949-2005).
Returning #51-7006 crew:
Carroll, Maj. Sterling T. (aircraft commander), Port Arthur, Texas
Shiver, Capt. Morris E. (co-pilot), Albany, Georgia
On this date a Boeing B-47 Stratojet crashed and exploded in a wheat field in north central Oklahoma, killing all three crewmen aboard. The plane, from McConnell Air Force Base, Wichita, Kansas, disintegrated into hundreds of pieces after the explosion in a farm area near the Kansas border.
Fatalities:
Andrew, Capt. Wayne Ewing (aircraft commander), Yellow Springs, Ohio - Captain Andrew was born January 21, 1920, in Montgomery County, Ohio, the son of John Howard Andrew (1878-1976) and Alma Blanche Darst Andrew (1886-1972). He was married to Doreline Hamra (1913-1977). His siblings were Mildred Lucille Andrew Unglesby (1918–2020), Helen Elise Andrew Ballard (1921–1988), Francis Darst Andrew (1922–2018), and Ruth Agnes Andrew Sliphorst (1926–2005). He served in the Ohio National Guard in 1939-1940, and enlisted August 19, 1942. He is buried in Bristow Cemetery, Bristow, Oklahoma.
Berry, Capt. William C. (observer), Dayton, Ohio - Captain Berry was born March 17, 1919 in Berea, Kentucky. Captain Berry and his wife Jeanne Marian (1922-2011), had four children. They are buried in Dayton Memorial Park Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio.
Cook, 1Lt. Joseph Charles (co-pilot), Sunland, California. - Lieutenant Cook was born December 22, 1924, in Chicago, Illinois. He marriedAlma LaVerne "Mickie" Clark Cook (1928-1993) and they had a son, Charles Terry Cook (1953-2016).
The US Navy's Super Constellation #131639 departed Stephenville (Canada) on a flight to Patuxent River NAS (NHK). While over Prince Edward Island the crew reported that two engines were out. A Boeing B-29 Superfortress escorted the plane back towards Stephenville, but lost visual contact with the plane. It crashed into the sea and all 13 men onboard were killed.
Fatalities:
Coram, John Robert -
Egan, John L.