THE SHOT HEARD AROUND THE ADIRONDACKS

MAY 11, 1997

EXPEDITION #5

It was 11:00 a.m., and I was standing on the N.E. slope of Blue Ridge Mountain. The snow at the top of the mountain was still deep and unstable. Everyone would occasionally fall through to knee or hip level. The view was breath-taking. A little to my left was a hill called the "Haystack". The sheer rock face looked directly in front of me. A little to the left was the shape of Cellar Mountain. The peak of Snowy Mountain was in the distance and was starting to disappear behind the smaller "haystack". Two weeks earlier I was standing in the same location, with my feet in the snow, looking at the same scenery. It was deja vous all over again. I said a prayer that God willing we would find the C-46 airplane that the previous 4 expeditions was unable to locate.

Three shots from a pistol rang out of an area a few hundred yards ahead of me. Immediately I knew what had happened. Gerry Chesebro, who had scouted ahead had located the resting place of the airplane. Suddenly the realization that we had found the airplane had hit me. I am sure that in those steps towards the plane I did not break through the crust of the snow once. After our four mile hike up to the top of Blue Ridge, my feet were light, and I dashed towards the plane. Chad Tredway was a few yards away from me when we heard the shots, and we both called towards the rest of the group that we located the plane. Wesley Tredway, Chad's father, along with Ron Sweet, and John Pitoniak had broken in the other direction searching for the plane. Chad started to go back to gather the troops, and I made my way to the plane.

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I broke over the ridge in site of the C-46 and saw the partially snow covered remains. I approached the plane carefully, sharp edges of aluminum were everywhere. The first sight was that of the wing, still covered with green paint. I knelt in the snow and reached out for the wing. In silence I gave my respects to the three crewmen of the plane. For one instance, I could feel the presence of William Barohn, Charles G. Pate, and Edward V. Poska. Emotion was running through my veins like a freight train. Those three shots, had changed a dream into a reality. It was hard to imagine on March 28, as we looked through the snow that we would be able to discover the secrets of Blue Ridge Mountain and the resting place of the C-46. Those three shots said in a loud voice to the Adirondacks, and all of Central New York that the crew had completed their mission. We could now bring their memory home.

The day started out early. I almost did not have the opportunity to join the search today. It is mothers day, and my wife Theresa has sacrificed a lot during the course of this year to keep our family together. I work from 7:00 to 3:30 and she works 4:30 to 1:00 a.m., so the times we could be together are given up so that one of us could always be with the children. I knew I had a large debt to pay to her, and as she worked on Saturday night I told her that she meant more to me than this expedition, & my chance to be one of the first to visit the plane in quite a while. She knew the struggle we have gone through on our expeditions and told me find the plane today, that would be my present to her, and her present to me. When she arrived home at 1:30 a.m. she gave me a Mr. Mom, mothers day card. Inclosed was a card of a man standing on top of a mountain peak. The card stated: "Achievement lies within the reach of those who reach beyond themselves." This was the motivation I needed today. We talked until 2:30 a.m. and as I tucked her in to bed, I started to get ready for the journey.

John Pitoniak had contacted me from reading the article in the Syracuse Herald American about our expedition. I had not planed on going today, but when Theresa gave me the go-ahead, I gave John a call. John had been an Adirondack guide in the past, and also was a amateur photographer. We met in Syracuse at 3:45 a.m. and started towards Speculator, N.Y. We arrived in Speculator around 6:00 a.m. and met up with Gerry and the other members. Gerry and Wesley had been hunting up in this area in the 1960's and had happened across the airplane. They believed they could locate the wreckage again so we started towards the trail.

It takes a while to gear up before we hit the trail. I wanted to attach my gaiters so that I could keep any snow out of my boots. I took out my camera out of my pack and my GPS and by 7:00 we started in. It is amazing how different the area looked without deep snow. The walk to the mighty Miami was quick, and by 7:30 we were to the cable bridge. We had the choice to cross on a downed tree, that looked quite slippery, or over a beaver dam. I decided to go on the tree, my boots would not keep out the depth of water that was going over the dam. Halfway across the tree, my footing started to give way. I was only a few feet away from success, but inches away from disaster. With a leap of faith I jumped to the other side. Once on the other side we found one more section to cross. Gerry brought waders with him, but I decided to wade across with my wet-suit boots, and in minutes I was across. By eight o'clock everyone was across and getting ready to continue. In every other crossing, we had not been on this side of the Miami by 10:00 o'clock, so I was greatly encouraged.

The trail that we were on was a much nicer one that we were used to. This was a nice gradual climb, instead of the sharp rises that we had gotten used to. We stopped for a short while at the Freemont Brook. I had my first taste of real spring water, and it was the best I had ever had. As you looked around almost every tree showed signs that bears had been in the area. Most of the trees had shown scars of the bears climbing the beech trees. We saw a bear nest at the top of one of the trees. Then we continued on. Our pace was steady as we headed towards the Freemont's headwaters. Only occasionally had we encountered any snow, and the distant "Haystack Mountain" was slowly approaching.

We arrived at the headwaters of the Freemont and knew we had to head uphill. Immediately we started to hit snow. I knew that we would have to continue to climb until we were almost level with the smaller haystack, because the C-46 would have had to flown over it to his this side of the mountain, so we continued to climb. The snow started to become deeper and deeper. At one point we decided to go our own ways for awhile. Gerry Chesebro went to the left, as did Chad and I, while John, Wesley, and Ron had gone to the right.

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In a matter of a few minutes is when we had heard the shots from Gerry's gun. I think I will hear the sound of those shots ring in my memory from time to time. Some shots are fired to start a race, others for practice, others in anger, but these were fired to signify the completion of the goal to locate the plane. Some certain sections of the plane were easily identified. One small section was that of the tail area. It was so light that it was easily lifted up in the air.

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Another section of the plane was a section of the fuselage. It was mounted on the wing. Both of the engines had broken free at the time of the impact. The fuselage section was only about as wide as the wing, 4 or 5 feet. I do not know what had happened to the rest of it. There was one window section still standing, but the window glass was broken and missing. The paint on the plane, army green was still on the plane. I was taking some time looking for any identifying marks like the serial number of the plane, but was unable to locate any.

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Underneath the wing was one of the wheels from the landing gear. I had tried to photograph the wheel close up, but the camera would not cooperate. The wheel had serial number, model number, and several other markings that would be good for identification purposes. The aluminum of the wheel looked like it was just cast yesterday. You could also see a lot of hydraulic lines that connected the landing gear to the plane. There was still a lot of snow covering the area, and we hope next week to uncover some more of the planes secrets.

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I was able to make my dedication to the pilots remembering the sacrifice they had made to their country. On May 17, we are returning with a plaque to leave at the site. This prototype plaque will be replaced with the permanent marker in about four weeks. We had already spent a hour on the crash site. Many of the guys had cellular phones with them and called home to wish their mothers and wives a happy mother's day. It was nice to reach out and touch someone from on top of the Mountain, standing amidst the crash site. This Saturday our mission will come full circle. Now discovered, a lot of time could be spent in documenting the crash site, and preserving some of its artifacts. We do not know exactly where this journey will lead, but as long as we are following our hearts, the destination will be a beautiful one.

SATURDAY, MAY 17

ARMED FORCES DAY

EXPEDITION # 6

Today was the day that the Caterpillar Club was going to place a plaque on top of Blue Ridge Mountain, at the crash site of the C-46 in a memorial service to the crew of the plane. A lot has happened in the last six days since we located the wreckage. The plaque that Paul Soderholm was donating was to be ready at Friday at 4:00. That was cutting it rather close for our ceremony. Most of us were going to get ready at 3:00 a.m. and leave around 4:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. Also the Club was growing in leaps and bounds. I received a call from Jim Ryder from Adams Center whose grandfather was among the original search party 53 years ago. He had original pictures of the crash site and always wanted to see what his grandfather saw. Kristian Reninger, an R.N. wanted to participate. Mike Irish, Daniel Hendersen aged 14 from Fayetteville, all were new comers.

On Friday morning I received the perplexing news that said the Army and Air Force from Fort Drum had located the wreckage of the C-46 on Wednesday morning after a civilian group had unsuccessfully located the wreckage earlier that spring. This news made me extremely mad. I knew that since we were on the crash site Sunday May 11, that we got to the crash site prior to the military. On the following Monday, May 12 a Lt. Col. Spillane, from Fort Drum wanted to get our exact GPS coordinates so that his group could practice locating the plane. When the article broke it sounded like the army with sophisticated gear located the plane when in fact the Caterpillar Club had found it with research, previous expeditions to learn the topography, and help from a group of hunters who found the wreckage 37 years ago.

The Rochester Chronicle states "Spillane said the two crews used a pair of Humvees, several radios and the Military's top-of-the-line Global Positioning System - which uses satellites to pinpoint exact locations- to search the mountain through 4 feet of snow."  I guess that makes better press than saying the army drove their Humvees up 1/4 mile on a dirt road to a parking area, and the army followed our marked trail to the crash site. Sgt. Shafer from Drum apologized Friday, but I don't think we will have a good working relationship with Drum after this. We had spent too long, and climbed to many miles to have them pull a stunt like that. That said, let me describe the dedication.

(JIM RYDER)

The radio buzzer again sounds at 3:00 a.m. and I roll out of bed. I hustle to get packed. 4:00 a.m. rolls around much to quickly and I race to the Hess gas station to meet up with Daniel Hendersen. We drive to Rome to meet up with Paul Dubay who is project co-director. Frank Rinaldo is with him and we are to meet Mike Irish at Griffiths Air base gate. We all hook up and start to head to Speculator. The day is cool and there is a drizzle in the air. We take our three car convoy to Speculator and pull into the cafe parking lot. There are a lot of cars there, all members of the club. Tim Reese of the Syracuse Newspapers is there to cover the memorial. Jim Ryder, whose grandfather was in the original search team in 1945, and a friend came. Gerry Chesebro, Chad Tredway, Ron Sweet and another hunter from Brookfield are sitting at a table. Paul Soderholm is drinking coffee and we all make our introductions. Jim Ryder had original crash pictures from 1945 and they show his grandfather praying over grave sites of the crew members. The army report stated the bodies were removed, but these clearly show grave sites. Another mystery to examine. We all gather had head up to the trail head. Last night Fox 68 from Albany wanted to come to cover the memorial, and the Plattsburg tv station wanted to come to. I guess our early start was too much for them.

(MARK SKYTRAIN BARBOUR WITH A PROP BLADE)

We expected to see Pete Davis at the trail, but he was not there. Another car pulls up and its Harold Rodman who I talked on the phone with the night before. He is familiar with the area and wanted to come. Another car arrives and its Kristian Reninger. He was supposed to meet us at the Hess station, but overslept. He spotted our convoy and got at the trail just in time. Total number of people, 15. We all started to get ready and Gerry Chesebro lead us down the trail. Soon we were at the Miami River. The army stated they made a bridge over the Miami at the old Cable Bridge. When we arrived, no such bridge. Many opted to cross over a beaver dam. I put on my wet suit boots and waded across. By 7:45 we were all on the other side headed for the trail. We did not want to rush to the plane, we had an age range from 14 to 62, so we kept an nice even pace. Gerry Chesebro stopped every so often to give a historical update on our hike. Some of the time he would point out bear claw marks, or a bear nest at the top of a tree. He would point out old logging trails, or old base camps. It would give us a chance to catch our breath, and keep up our interest in the hike.

(PAUL DUBAY WITH A PROP BLADE)

As we neared the base of the Blue Ridge the temperature dropped 10 degrees to 35. Pretty cold for May 17. Everyone stayed together and we started up. It was not too long before we reached the top. Paul Dubay asked the group to hold up just short of the plane so we could get ready for our memorial. Paul, Frank and I pulled out the plaque and the three VFW markers and got ready. We placed the three flags at the base of the wing and unfolded them. I placed the plaque just above the flags. Paul Dubay asked for a minute of silence. With 15 people assembled it was dead silent. The only noise was that of the Freemont Brook in the distance, and the wind in the trees. I then asked each team member to introduce themselves to the crew members of the plane, and each said in a loud voice their first and last name. I then started to read the inscription of the plaque :

Soon after we all went around the crash site to see what the melting snow had uncovered. Ahead of the crash we located both engines of the plane. We found three propeller blades still attached to engine parts. We located the tail and positively identified this as to be the crash site we were looking for. We all knew this was the site, but I was looking for the smoking gun, the positive proof we were this was the exact site, and we had found it. Jim Ryder had his original photo's showing the serial number on the tail, it matched the photo in the army report, and the numbers on the tail!! There was still 3 or 4 feet in some spots, so not all of the plane was visible. We were also trying to be very careful not to get hurt. The snow was still unstable, and sharp edges of the plane everywhere. At one point I was headed down hill and slipped 6 or 8 feet on the plane, but caught my balance.

(SERIAL NUMBER OF THE PLANE 2397)

In the distance we could hear someone yelling. We did not know who it was. Could the Army be trying to catch up with us for the memorial? We called back to the party. We were fogged in at the top of the mountain and could not see very far. Eventually the party arrived and it was Pete Davis and another guy from Welch Allyn where I work. They had come down the Sucker Brook Trail, and had spent the night on the mountain. They took the hard route, climbing over Cellar Mountain. Pete wanted to try this route, and I'll glad he did, but he liked our trail on the way down. We spent about 1 1/2 at the site, ate lunch there, and then everyone was ready to head back down. We will return in about a month when the permanent plaque is ready. By then the plane will be uncovered from its blanket of snow.

(PAUL DUBAY, PAUL SODERHOLM, KRISTIAN RENNINGER W/ MOTOR)

The way down the Mountain was slippery, but soon we were at the base of the mountain. We kept up a pretty good pace on the way back. Chad Tredway promised Everett, a member of the original hunting party to bring back some Freemont Brook water, so he collected 6 gallons of water and strapped it on his back. We all made our way to the Miami river, and then back to the vehicles. Some members of the team went back to the Pizza Crust, the best place to get food in Speculator. We talked about our journey, and what adventures lay ahead. We all knew that we had done something wonderful that day. We were able to give the crewmen of the C-46 a way to complete their mission from over half of a century ago.

(MIKE IRISH IN FRONT OF WRECKAGE)

I just had one task left to complete. After I arrived home, and put my children to bed, Nicky aged 10, Tony aged 7, and Dylan aged 4, I made a phone call to Iris Pate sister-in-law to Charles Pate one of the crewmen. I told her one week ago on mothers day we had located the resting place of the plane. I read her the inscription on the plaque and she said this was the best thing anyone had ever done. I told her we would soon send her copies of the photo's from the expedition and keep in touch. It was a great end of a great day. It is not often that you can make an accomplishment like this. We learned a lot of lessons along the way. We learned a lot about our will to succeed and how to make a team work to accomplish a difficult goal. This has been my spirit journey, and now I know it has only just started, we have a lot to learn, and more adventures to make.