January 14th, 1942: A B-18 bomber was returning from U-Boat patrol off the Atlantic when it encountered a blizzard and was blown 400 miles off course. When they got a break in the cloud cover, the crew saw a city below. Believing it to be Providence, RI, they turned north thinking they were headed home to their army air field in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, that city was actually Concord, NH, and their flight path took them directly into NH's White Mountains. Miraculously, when the plane eventually crashed into the side of Mt. Waternomee, 5 of the 7 crew would survive to be rescued by local mountaineers from nearby Woodstock and Lincoln, who cut their way up the side of the mountain, in a blizzard, with no idea exactly what happened beyond people in the village below hearing 3 explosions on the mountainside.
The crash site, being fairly remote, is now a protected archaeological site, and remains fairly untouched as an out-of-the-way memorial of WWII. You won't find it advertised on any travel brochures, or on any lists of top places to visit in the state, but hundreds of people make the climb every year to plant flags, and remember those who gave everything for their country.
You can find more info about the site from this article published in NH Magazine: www.nhmagazine...
8 сен 2024
