I was around ten years old when I first heard the story of the F-5E crashing just outside of Barnsdall. The location of the crash seem to be a mystery of some sort since most people that told the story could only say that it crashed near Websters Hill. Over the years I was in school, every time I would venture out on a ride west of town with someone I would scan the hills looking for any indication that there may have been a plane crash. Although I knew I was looking at over thirty years of vegetation growth on the hillsides, I was always an optimist as to thinking there was that one slim chance there would be some clue as to the whereabouts of the crash location. As years faded into history, so did my thoughts of the crashed plane until 1980 when I began working for the Petrolite Corporation in Barnsdall. My interest in the subject began to grow again after having an evening chat with Glen Pease, one of the stills workers at the refinery. Glen had been at the refinery for many years and had just as many stories to tell to any of the new guys that had been hired. It was just my luck that one of our small conversations was about WW II. As a history buff, I was all ears about hearing anything about what happened during the war. It was during this conversation that a bombshell was dropped on me that would have me looking for years. Glen casually made a reference that there was a piece, most likely part of a propeller of the WW II F-5E that crashed outside of Barnsdall in one of the buildings on the Petrolite property. I just looked at him in disbelief without saying a word, but my mind was thinking, what kind of piece was it, where could it be hidden, what building was he speaking of? He then told me that it was a rumor he had heard over the years. That was all that was said about it and he never spoke of it again. My enthusiasm was once again energized and at that time, I was living with my parents in one of the company houses ( BARECO Cottage 19) on the northwest corner of Petrolites property. In the summer of 1981, I purchased a Yamaha 150 three wheeler and used it to help in one part of a two part search. On many occasions I would set out from the house armed with nothing more than a topography map and a tank full tank of gas. My purpose was to drive the oil patch roads west of Barnsdall and if possible cross a few pastures in the pursuit of a crash site that was by now 40 years old. The second part of the search would take place on the grounds of the Petrolite property. It was here I began a search that would last on and off for years. After a couple years of trying to locate a crash site, I finally came to the realization that it was a lost cause since I didn't have much information to go by. But twenty-five years working evening and night shift can get a lot of looking done for what I thought may be a piece of a plane no bigger than a shoe box. But with every demolished building came the reality that there wasn't any piece of the F-5E anywhere on the Petrolite property. It was now the year 2005 and once again the F-5E was fading into history.
In 2009, I was searching for information online for a story I was going to write when I came across a web site by Clint Daniel. He had written an extensive story loaded with information on the crash of the F-5E. Not only did he have the official crash report by the Army Air Corps from 1945 with photos of the crashed plane, he also had a small piece of the plane his dad had picked up while he was at the crash site in 1945. At this point I was thinking to myself...this must of been about the size of any piece that was gathered up that day. Something big enough to put in your shirt pocket and walk away with. At the end of his story he had written a small paragraph stating that he would like to hear from anyone that may have any information about the crash. I was unaware at that time that anyone was looking for the crash site until I read his story. Come to find out he also looked for it in 2008. I now felt like the story had a final ending, even if the crash site wasn't found, there was a full story online that could finally close the book on this event. But this wasn't the end, and two years later a new chapter was about to be written......
Part 3 coming soon.
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A piece of the P38 F-5E that crashed west of Barnsdall in 1945.
Photo from the Clint Daniel site. |
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