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...Captain Pope of Montgomery, Alabama and Lieutenant Charles Thompson of Schenectady, another member of the crew, were decorated combat veterans from the North Africa campaign.
Tuesday, January 25, 2022...Chit-Chat "5 Minutes"
Wartime Army plane crashed in Amsterdam
By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History
It was 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday, October 13 1943 when a twin-engine American Army bomber crashed in a rural section of Amsterdam’s South Side as the plane’s four-man crew parachuted to safety in the city’s Fifth Ward. Remarkably, there were no injuries. The plane was on a flight between Rome and Schenectady when its engines went out.
Fireman Frank Mazur, standing outside the Central Fire Station at West Main and Pearl Streets, heard an airplane engine sputtering and saw the tail light descending rapidly toward the South Side. Firefighters, cops and ambulances scrambled to the scene. The plane went down either in the vicinity of today’s Route 5-S or New York State Thruway. The Army and State Police guarded the accident scene during the night, keeping crowds of spectators away.
Captain John F. Pope, the last to exit the plane at about 500 feet, was found wandering on DeWitt Street. He apparently had landed on the roof of popular Fifth Ward Alderman Angelo Sardonia’s house or on the nearby porch of Charles Frohlich. Accounts differ. The other three crew members landed safely in the vicinity of the Fifth Ward School on Perkins Street. The plane’s exit door from which they escaped was found on Eagle Street in the city's East End.
Captain Pope of Montgomery, Alabama and Lieutenant Charles Thompson of Schenectady, another member of the crew, were decorated combat veterans from the North Africa campaign. Thompson had been in a plane shot down 45 miles behind the German lines, but Thompson and his men found their way back to allied territory. The two other soldiers in the Amsterdam crash were Sergeant Joseph Bragdon of York Village, Maine and Sergeant Albert Finarelli of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
The Recorder reported of Captain Pope, "He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal, with several oak leaf clusters, but it remained for Amsterdam to hold the distinction of being the first place over which he bailed out of a plane."
Captain Pope lost his beat-up old hat in the parachute jump into Amsterdam, a hat that had been with him in England, Ireland, Scotland, Gibraltar and all over North Africa in his 108 combat missions. Fortunately, Fifth Ward School second grader Peter Marcucio, celebrating his seventh birthday, and his friend Robert Selbert found the hat and were rewarded with junior sets of pilot's wings later that month.
In a letter to Marcucio, Captain Pope wrote, “As you know, the hat wasn't very good, but it carries a lot of memories with it that make it priceless to me.”
The flight had originated at the relatively new Rome Air Depot, created in November 1942. The facility became Griffiss Air Force Base after the war in 1948.
Amsterdam city historian Robert von Hasseln said the bomber likely was on a check flight testing repairs to the aircraft or engines before returning it to an operational command.
Von Hasseln said the type of plane that crashed is not certain, but probably it was a B-25 Mitchell, although it could have also been an A-20, B-26 or another type. The Mitchell was named in honor of aviation pioneer Billy Mitchell.
The bomber crew from the Amsterdam crash was lucky to survive. Laura Hillenbrand in her book “Unbroken” wrote of World War II, “Some 15,000 airmen died in accidental crashes stateside.”
Thanks to Al Mancini of Amsterdam for suggesting this story. Much of the information came from attorney Bob Going. The story of the plane crash will be part of Going’s book on Amsterdam in World War II called “Where Do We Find Such Men?” The book will be published later this year.
There is always tomorrow, we hope
Wednesday, January 26-From the Archives- March 29, 2019-Episode 259-Patricia Walsh Chadwick, author of “Little Sister,” a memoir about her childhood in which she was raised in a strict Roman Catholic community.
Thursday, January 27, 2022-From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-Amsterdam barber a black political leader
January 28, 2022--This Friday by 6AM
#407
250th anniversary
We think that's in the 2020's
New York State historian Devin Lander discusses plans to observe the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution
Wall St History: 19th Century Growth of Investment Banking
by Jim Kaplan
New York Almanack https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2022/01/wall-st-history-19th-century-growth-of-investment-banking/
All 12 Jim Kaplan Historians Podcasts are posted on this page
New York State Council on the Arts / Museum Association of New York
Partnership Grants for Capacity Building
The Museum Association of New York in partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts will award $500,000 in capacity building grants to non-profit museums located in New York State. 100 grants of $5,000 will be awarded. As this partnership grant program was developed to reach museums not already funded by NYSCA, priority will be given to museums that did not receive NYSCA organizational support funding for FY 2022. Those who did receive Restart NY and/or Recovery Grants, but not organizational support are eligible.
https://nysmuseums.org/Partnership-Grants
Amsterdam weather, not much to mutter about...
Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Scattered snow showers, mainly before 7am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 29. Light southwest wind becoming west 12 to 17 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with a low around 1. Wind chill values as low as -7. West wind 6 to 11 mph.
Wednesday
Sunny, with a high near 14. Wind chill values as low as -9. West wind 6 to 13 mph.
High temperatures will be near normal today before a cold
front tracks through our region. Behind the cold front, another
Arctic airmass returns, resulting in bitterly cold conditions
through Thursday morning. There is potential for a coastal
storm to impact the area Friday night into Saturday, although
uncertainty remains high.
front tracks through our region. Behind the cold front, another
Arctic airmass returns, resulting in bitterly cold conditions
through Thursday morning. There is potential for a coastal
storm to impact the area Friday night into Saturday, although
uncertainty remains high.
This Weekend on-line and in The Paper-Paper
Bob Cudmore
Saturday, January 29, 2022-Focus on History in the Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder-Amsterdam’s “Hallelujah” Connection
Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Daily Gazette
State judge overturns NY mask mandate
MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — A New York judge ruled Monday that the state’s mask mandate can’t be enforced, after it…
Sheldon Silver, NY power broker sent to prison, dead at 77
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, one of the most powerful figures in state government…
https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorder
Amsterdam school officials: Governor’s education aid proposal promising
Canajoharie school district pays unneeded fuel expenses, audit shows
https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
Johnstown Board OKs $131k plow truck purchase
by Jason Subik
https://www.leaderherald.com/
View all episodes
By Bob Cudmore...Captain Pope of Montgomery, Alabama and Lieutenant Charles Thompson of Schenectady, another member of the crew, were decorated combat veterans from the North Africa campaign.
Tuesday, January 25, 2022...Chit-Chat "5 Minutes"
Wartime Army plane crashed in Amsterdam
By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History
It was 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday, October 13 1943 when a twin-engine American Army bomber crashed in a rural section of Amsterdam’s South Side as the plane’s four-man crew parachuted to safety in the city’s Fifth Ward. Remarkably, there were no injuries. The plane was on a flight between Rome and Schenectady when its engines went out.
Fireman Frank Mazur, standing outside the Central Fire Station at West Main and Pearl Streets, heard an airplane engine sputtering and saw the tail light descending rapidly toward the South Side. Firefighters, cops and ambulances scrambled to the scene. The plane went down either in the vicinity of today’s Route 5-S or New York State Thruway. The Army and State Police guarded the accident scene during the night, keeping crowds of spectators away.
Captain John F. Pope, the last to exit the plane at about 500 feet, was found wandering on DeWitt Street. He apparently had landed on the roof of popular Fifth Ward Alderman Angelo Sardonia’s house or on the nearby porch of Charles Frohlich. Accounts differ. The other three crew members landed safely in the vicinity of the Fifth Ward School on Perkins Street. The plane’s exit door from which they escaped was found on Eagle Street in the city's East End.
Captain Pope of Montgomery, Alabama and Lieutenant Charles Thompson of Schenectady, another member of the crew, were decorated combat veterans from the North Africa campaign. Thompson had been in a plane shot down 45 miles behind the German lines, but Thompson and his men found their way back to allied territory. The two other soldiers in the Amsterdam crash were Sergeant Joseph Bragdon of York Village, Maine and Sergeant Albert Finarelli of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
The Recorder reported of Captain Pope, "He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal, with several oak leaf clusters, but it remained for Amsterdam to hold the distinction of being the first place over which he bailed out of a plane."
Captain Pope lost his beat-up old hat in the parachute jump into Amsterdam, a hat that had been with him in England, Ireland, Scotland, Gibraltar and all over North Africa in his 108 combat missions. Fortunately, Fifth Ward School second grader Peter Marcucio, celebrating his seventh birthday, and his friend Robert Selbert found the hat and were rewarded with junior sets of pilot's wings later that month.
In a letter to Marcucio, Captain Pope wrote, “As you know, the hat wasn't very good, but it carries a lot of memories with it that make it priceless to me.”
The flight had originated at the relatively new Rome Air Depot, created in November 1942. The facility became Griffiss Air Force Base after the war in 1948.
Amsterdam city historian Robert von Hasseln said the bomber likely was on a check flight testing repairs to the aircraft or engines before returning it to an operational command.
Von Hasseln said the type of plane that crashed is not certain, but probably it was a B-25 Mitchell, although it could have also been an A-20, B-26 or another type. The Mitchell was named in honor of aviation pioneer Billy Mitchell.
The bomber crew from the Amsterdam crash was lucky to survive. Laura Hillenbrand in her book “Unbroken” wrote of World War II, “Some 15,000 airmen died in accidental crashes stateside.”
Thanks to Al Mancini of Amsterdam for suggesting this story. Much of the information came from attorney Bob Going. The story of the plane crash will be part of Going’s book on Amsterdam in World War II called “Where Do We Find Such Men?” The book will be published later this year.
There is always tomorrow, we hope
Wednesday, January 26-From the Archives- March 29, 2019-Episode 259-Patricia Walsh Chadwick, author of “Little Sister,” a memoir about her childhood in which she was raised in a strict Roman Catholic community.
Thursday, January 27, 2022-From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-Amsterdam barber a black political leader
January 28, 2022--This Friday by 6AM
#407
250th anniversary
We think that's in the 2020's
New York State historian Devin Lander discusses plans to observe the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution
Wall St History: 19th Century Growth of Investment Banking
by Jim Kaplan
New York Almanack https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2022/01/wall-st-history-19th-century-growth-of-investment-banking/
All 12 Jim Kaplan Historians Podcasts are posted on this page
New York State Council on the Arts / Museum Association of New York
Partnership Grants for Capacity Building
The Museum Association of New York in partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts will award $500,000 in capacity building grants to non-profit museums located in New York State. 100 grants of $5,000 will be awarded. As this partnership grant program was developed to reach museums not already funded by NYSCA, priority will be given to museums that did not receive NYSCA organizational support funding for FY 2022. Those who did receive Restart NY and/or Recovery Grants, but not organizational support are eligible.
https://nysmuseums.org/Partnership-Grants
Amsterdam weather, not much to mutter about...
Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Scattered snow showers, mainly before 7am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 29. Light southwest wind becoming west 12 to 17 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with a low around 1. Wind chill values as low as -7. West wind 6 to 11 mph.
Wednesday
Sunny, with a high near 14. Wind chill values as low as -9. West wind 6 to 13 mph.
High temperatures will be near normal today before a cold
front tracks through our region. Behind the cold front, another
Arctic airmass returns, resulting in bitterly cold conditions
through Thursday morning. There is potential for a coastal
storm to impact the area Friday night into Saturday, although
uncertainty remains high.
front tracks through our region. Behind the cold front, another
Arctic airmass returns, resulting in bitterly cold conditions
through Thursday morning. There is potential for a coastal
storm to impact the area Friday night into Saturday, although
uncertainty remains high.
This Weekend on-line and in The Paper-Paper
Bob Cudmore
Saturday, January 29, 2022-Focus on History in the Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder-Amsterdam’s “Hallelujah” Connection
Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Daily Gazette
State judge overturns NY mask mandate
MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — A New York judge ruled Monday that the state’s mask mandate can’t be enforced, after it…
Sheldon Silver, NY power broker sent to prison, dead at 77
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, one of the most powerful figures in state government…
https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorder
Amsterdam school officials: Governor’s education aid proposal promising
Canajoharie school district pays unneeded fuel expenses, audit shows
https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
Johnstown Board OKs $131k plow truck purchase
by Jason Subik
https://www.leaderherald.com/