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
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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.
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