Shirley Basin in Carbon County, Wyoming — The American West (Mountains)
Honoring Those Who Gave All In Wyoming WWII Training Accidents
Photographed by Jimmy Emerson, October 16, 2026
1. Honoring Those Who Gave All In Wyoming WWII Training Accidents Marker
Shortly before midnight on January 1, 1945, the B-24 Liberator #42-95559 bomber and her six-man crew were lost in a training accident on a high plateau ten miles northeast of here. The bomber was assigned to the Casper Army Air Fields 211th Army Force Base Unit. The bomber was assigned to the Casper Army Air Field's 211th Army Air Force Base Unit. It was commanded by 2nd Lt. Robert E. Murchison and copiloted by 2nd Lt. Harold B. Paulk. Murchison and his crew were returning to Casper after completing an eight-hour navigation-training flight to Nebraska and back. Bad weather led the crew to believe they were north of Casper Mountain. They began a shallow descent at their cruising speed of 215 miles per hour toward what they thought was the airfield. In fact, the aircraft was 25 miles south of Casper. It crashed into a high, snow-covered plain and slid 1,300 feet before stopping in Bates Creek.
Army Air Force personnel recovered the crewmen's remains on January 5, 1945. They returned the following May to clean up the crash site. Over subsequent decades, the crash site was forgotten. Its location remained a mystery for
this page online
The Murchison crash was one of 90 fatal aviation accidents resulting in 124 fatalities connected to the Casper Army Air Base/Field. During the Second World War (1941-1945), the Army Air Force lost almost 15,000 personnel to aviation accidents in the Continental US and more than 40,000 to overseas combat. This sign is dedicated to the memory of the men who gave their lives:
2nd Lt. Robert E. Murchison (P)
2nd Lt. Harold B. Paulk (Copilot)
2nd Lt. Reede L. Bludworth (Navigator)
2nd Lt. Reuben J.. Clark (bombardier)
Cpl. Eugene J. Opala (Engineer)
Cpl. Robert S. Hillard (Radio)
Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Disasters • War, World II. A significant historical date for this entry is January 1, 1945.
Location. 42° 24.927′ N, 106° 22.827′ W. Memorial is in Shirley Basin, Wyoming, in Carbon County. It is on Wyoming 487, on the left when traveling south. Located at the Shirley Rim Rest Area.
Photographed by Jimmy Emerson, October 16, 2026
2. Honoring Those Who Gave All In Wyoming WWII Training Accidents Marker
Regionally, this memorial is in the Westward Expansion Trails Region. It is also in the American Mountain West. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Republic of Texas.
Other nearby markers. At least one other marker is within walking distance of this marker: Interconnected To All Life (a few steps from this marker).
Also see . . . Three more WW-II era crash sites found by veterans group to be honored with full services, markers. Oil City News article (May 30, 2022) (Submitted on November 1, 2026.)
Photographed by Jimmy Emerson, October 16, 2026
3. Honoring Those Who Gave All In Wyoming WWII Training Accidents Marker & Shirley Rim Rest Area
The marker is the left of the rest area.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 1, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 19, 2026, by Jimmy Emerson of Dalton, Georgia. This page has been viewed 10 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 19, 2026, by Jimmy Emerson of Dalton, Georgia. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
