Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 4, 2013)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, September 4,2013 - THREE WWII BOMBER CRASH military men on their land, -Continuedfrom PAGE ONE They detached the wings and Allison agreed that, if the pilot had put down his landing gear, things might have gone much differently, as the plane probably would have flipped end-over-end. As it was, the Air Force decided to retrieve the plane and try to put it back in commission. “They called me and said, ‘We have a plane out there we need you to pick up,”’ he remembered. B ill R ie tm a n n , a sophomore in lone at the time, didn’t live on the farm on Rietmann Lane, but word spreads quickly in a small town. “1 don’t think anyone at school knew except us kids. I don’t even know how we knew,” said Rietmann. “ Like a bunch o f kids, we ran out and jumped in som eone's car and went to see it. We did n ’t get any closer than the road; there were people all over it already. It was a pretty secure place.” The crew o f 12 Air Force personnel headed to lone to take the plane apart and transport it to the Air Force base in Portland. and loaded the plane and the wings onto a flat-bed trailer. One person always stayed with the plane for security reasons, said Allison. For accommodations, part of the crew slept in the military truck and the others slept on the ground. They were so trail-worn by the time they returned to Portland, he said, that they went to the quartermaster and took out new GI clothing, and then threw what they were wearing in the trash. Food was dished out in various ways, including Allison’s own contribution. When he found out where they were headed, he said, he came prepared. “ I’d gotten a hunting license in Portland before 1 left and took my 12-guage with me,” said Allison. He said one day they took 12 pheasants to the restaurant in lone. “ 1 said to the man, ‘We've got to feed these guys. Can you do something with these?”’ Allison said everyone was helpful, especially the Reitmann couple, who not only accommodated the that tunnel, we went to the highway department and they said, ‘You’ve got four to six inches (of clearance),” ’ said the vet. “We didn’t realize it was really four to six inches.” It took the men nearly four hours o f sweat and curses to get the trailer and plane through the tunnel. When they reached Hood River, their efforts were rewarded by a crowd of people lining the streets and waving flags. Also w a itin g , rem e m b ered Allison, was the Hood River commanding officer, who said he’d been prepared to throw the 2nd Lieutenant in the brig if he'd gotten the P-38 stuck in that tunnel. After Hood River, the cfew decided to take the “loop highway,” Highway 35. “ That 35 is really narrow. I think it was a one- way road,” said Allison. “I’m sure it was for your vehicle!’’ quipped LaRue. On 35, the men ran into what they were sure would be a show-stopper, a one-way bridge with metal trusses on either side. “Once we got past Arlington, we thought we were home, until we got to that bridge,” he said. They thought at first that they were stuck, but then discovered that the tru sses were perfectly spaced to run between the plane’s body and the twin engines; the plane made it across the bridge with the engines riding outside the trusses in open air. Despite the obstacles, the crew returned to the P ortland base with the but also lent them their own horses to ride. Despite the heavy work of taking apart a seven- to eight-ton bomber, though, the real work was ahead of them. Interstate 84 didn’t exist in 1944. Even Highway 74, now a main route, wasn’t commissioned until 1939. Instead, the men had to take the plane, on its trailer, across local roads in less- than-ideal conditions. The route they chose was Four Mile Road from Morgan to Arlington. It was a rough, gravel road, full o f h ills and curves, and it gave even the military's equipment a run for its money. “I can’t even fathom how things would have been back then, how hard it would have been to pull a plane,” said LaRue. The trip to Arlington took “quite a long time.” Allison said the crew had trouble with the curves, and the tru c k ’s engine o v erh ea ted c o n sta n tly under the weight o f the plane. “ O n ce w e g o t to Arlington, we had a few obstacles but, boy, it (the road to A rlington) was really tough,” he said. “Once we were on the highway, we had a siren,” Allison said. There wasn't much traffic on Highway 30, he remembered, and the siren helped to move what traffic there was out of the way. “That wasn’t so bad.” A day o f tra v e l took them to their next o b s ta c le ...a tu n n el on Highway 30 some ways before Hood River. “ W hen we g o t to Bill Allison with his crew of Air Force personnel during their trip to lone to retrieve the plane. Allison stands second from the left in front. -Contributedphoto plane, after nine days and around 1,000 m iles on their military jeep. They took the plane to the base’s maintenance shop. “The guy told me it was remarkable, the shape it was in,” Allison said. When asked, Allison said he didn’t receive any com m endations for his work, “They didn't put me in prison; that was the main thing,” he joked. Actually, though, he did get a good performance rating for that job, he said, the best o f his career. “The only su p erio r rating I ever got was for bringing that plane in,” said Allison. “We had so many close shaves.” “It was a great little journey and lots o f fun,” said Allison. The retrieval crew around the downed P-38 bomber. - Contributed photo A paper model of the P-38 bomber. Licenses CREZ CONSIDERS HOUSING GRANTS Marriage The Morrow County B oardm an and M aura -Continuedfrom PA GE ONE to the CREZ. The program triplex and four plex units housing there will be more Clerk’s office has released A guilar F lores, 38, of T h e g r a n t w o u ld apparently be available to anyone m oving into anywhere in the county but with the stipulation the buyers would own the home for a period of time, probably five years. Neither would they have to work for one of the businesses at the Port of Morrow where the CREZ is located. The final details of the plan have not been worked out, but money for the program would come from fees in lieu of taxes that new businesses locating in the enterprise zone are now starting to pay would be administered by G reater Eastern Oregon Development Corporation (GEODC). In a related m atter, the CREZ also discussed starting a low-interest loan program to provide gap financing for investors developing rental properties in Morrow County. This program would be similar to one the City of Boardman already has up and running. A c c o rd in g to city guidelines, “The purpose o f the fund is to provide funding for gap lending to aid in building single family residences, duplex, in Boardman.” The rental development plan was funded with a $100,000 grant already received by the city from the CREZ. “ We have an o v er abundance of low-income housing in Boardman and all o f Morrow County,” CREZ board member Don Russell said. “There is, however, a lack of rental housing and once PGE construction (a new gas plant being b u ilt near Boardman) starts, it will not get any better for the next couple of years.” “If there is more rental people,” he added. Under Boardman’s plan the loans will be made to developers at three percent interest and used to fill a gap up to 40 percent of the project total between bank lending and the construction cost of the rental project. The CREZ program would be available county-wide, so if an investor wants to construct rental housing in lone, Lexington, Heppner or Irrigon, funds would be available. Funds for the housing development fund would also come from fees CREZ will receive in the future. Art About Agriculture travels to Pendleton, Moro CORVALLIS, O re .— A rt c e le b ra tin g the C o lu m b ia B a s in ’s heritage of dryland wheat farming will make special appearances in Pendleton and Moro over the next two months. Oregon State U niversity’s College o f Agricultural Sciences is displaying 10 works o f art from its A rt About A g ricu ltu re perm anent collection through Sept, 24 at the Sherman Junior/ M o r r o w C o u n t y H e a l t h D is t r ic t S e e k s I n t e r e s t e d B o a r d o f D ir e c t o r C a n d id a t e s Morrow County Health District is seeking to identify individuals who are interested in serving on the Morrow County Health District Board. The individual selected will serve out the remainder o f an existing term and will be eligible for re-election in 2015. Potential candidates must be residents o f Morrow County and should send a letter indicating desire to serve along with a statement describing background and qualifications. Questions can be directed to Dan Grigg at (541) 676-2915 and letters o f interest sent to the attention o f Tonia Adams, Morrow County Health District, P.O. Box 9, Heppner, Oregon, 97836. 4 • f M O R R O W COUNTY HEALTH DISTRICT [ « ( « H e n c e in H e n l t h u i e Senior High School Library in Moro. Ten additional works of art will join the traveling show when it moves to the Blue Mountain Community College’s Betty Feves Memorial Gallery located in Pendleton. That show will be on display Sept. 25-Oct. 30. The art exhibit’s visit to Moro will include a free reception from 4-6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, at 65912 High School Loop in Moro. ^C^dding* Tables Tayll or Gould & William Brannon S ep tem b er 1 3 , 2 0 1 3 Kelsey Greenup & Justin Fennem S ep tem b er 2 1 , 2 0 1 3 Murray's Drug is now accepting application for a full time (32-40 hrs) position. Applicant must be willing to learn all departments. Schedule will be Tuesday-Saturday. Motivated with an outgoing personality is a must. Applications may be picked up at Murray's at the front counter. Please call Ann Murray at 541-676-9158 for any questions. M umaij ' j D auq - 217 North Main St Heppner • Phone 676-9158 • Floral 676-9426 Serving Morrow, Wheeler & Gilliam counties Since 1959 I i 'I the follow ing report o f marriage licenses: A u g u st 29, 2 0 1 3 : -Jose A lonso C am bero A l t a m i r a n o , 36, o f Boardman. -Timothy Roy Parker, 49, of Boardman and Jill M arie Pam brun, 39, of Boardman. DA’s Report Morrow County D istrict A ttorney Justin Nelson has released the following report: -Mario Garcilazo, 18, was convicted of Attempt to Commi t a C lass C/ Unclassified Felony - Rape 3, a Class A Misdemeanor. O f the sentence o f 180 days jail time, 170 days was suspended and the defendant was given 10 days jail time and 24 months bench probation, to include 60 hour s c o m m u n i t y service and no contact with the victim. Fines, fees and assessments totaled $600. -M anuel Torres Reyes, 54, was convicted o f Crim inal trespass in the first degree, a Class A M isdem eanor; sentence o f 180 days j ai l ti me was suspended and the defendant sentenced to 24 months bench, probation, to include 20 hours o f community service, mental health evaluation, no contact with the victims except to get defendant’s belongings, and vacating victim s' property within one week o f judgm ent. Fines, fees and assessments totaled $200. - Manuel Torres Reyes, 54, was further convicted o f d iso rd e rly conduct in the second degree, a C lass B M isdem eanor. Sentence of 90 days jail time was suspended and the defendant sentenced to 24 months bench probation, to include mental health evaluation, no contact with the victims except to get defendant’s belongings, no contact with “The Barn” restaurant in Lexington, and vacat i ng v i c t i m s ’ property within one week of judgment. Fines, fees and assessments totaled $480. -Misti Dawn Stefani, 33, was convicted of four counts of tampering with drug records, a class C Felony. D efendant was sentenced to 18 months supervised probation on each count, each subject to 90 sanction units with 30 jail units. Conditions o f pr o b a t i o n on each count include substance abuse evaluation, mental health evaluation, 30 hours community service, and a written letter of apology to the victim. Fines, fees and assessments totaled $400. Community lunch menu Willow Creek Baptist and El ohi m Cove na nt church volunteers will serve lunch on Wednesday, Sept. II, at St. Patrick’s Senior Center. The meal will include Italian beef tortillas in t omat o basil tortillas, broccoli slaw, green salad, and dessert pizza. Milk is served at each meal. Suggested donation is $3.50 per meal. Menu is subject to change. ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. I
