Near Bruning in Thayer County, Nebraska — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Bruning Air Field Pilots Killed near Naper, Nebraska

August 3 1944

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 23, 2022

1. Bruning Air Field Pilots Killed near Naper, Nebraska Marker

Inscription.
Acree, William • Albert, John • Armstrong, William • Arnett, Willard • Blakeslide, Herbert • Boekman, George • Bohle, Robert • Brown, Jack • Brown, Richard • Burke, James • Clarkson, Donald • Hemphill, Lloyd • Hutslar, Orson • Johnson, Arthur • Jolley, Clayton • Jolley, Leonard • Keller, Gerald • Lytle, Jack • Meadows, Stanley • Nesbitt, Robert • O’Malley, Bernard • Paladino, Anthony • Patterson, Bruce • Pope, Alex Leland • Porter, Charles • Roberts, Leslie • Roberts, Pat • Sehorn, Lavon

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Disasters • War, World II. A significant historical date for this entry is August 3, 1944.

Location. 40° 19.288′ N, 97° 26.831′ W. Marker is near Bruning, Nebraska, in Thayer County. It is on State Highway 4 6.8 miles east of U.S. 81, on the left when traveling east. Marker is located in a pull-out on the north side of the highway. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Bruning NE 68322, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Nebraska’s Smoky Hills,

in Eastern Nebraska and in the Republican River Valley.

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It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Corn Belt,

and on the prairies.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Bruning Army Air Field (here, next to this marker); First Free Flight of a Modern Hot-Air Balloon (here, next to this marker); The Ohiowa Auditorium (approx. 6.4 miles away); Pony Express Riders (approx. 6.7 miles away); The Forty-Niner Trail (approx. 7.4 miles away); Oregon Trail (approx. 7.6 miles away); a different marker also named Oregon Trail (approx. 8.4 miles away); Sergeant Leodegar Schnyder (approx. 9.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bruning.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.

Also see . . . Memories of Bruning Army Air Base.

The most painful, yet memorable, tragedy involved the greatest loss of personnel in a single crash in World War II. Twenty-six trainees, who had just
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 23, 2022

2. Bruning Air Field Pilots Killed near Naper, Nebraska Marker
gotten their wings, and the pilot and co-pilot of a C-47 died. The plane was headed for Pierre, S.D., for gunnery training and crashed near Naper, Neb., in August 1944. Many other young trainees lost their life in crashes on and around the base.

(Submitted on October 2, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 23, 2022

3. Bruning Air Field Pilots Killed near Naper, Nebraska Marker

(looking north from Nebraska Highway 4 • related marker on left)

Credits. This page was last revised on October 2, 2022. It was originally submitted on October 1, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 384 times since then and 29 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 2, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.