A survivor in every sense: In ‘64 air crash, 17 died, 2 survived, including Bill Zugelder

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WILMINGTON — Bill Zugelder’s voice is firm and his memories vivid at age 91.

One could even argue he’s healthier now than he was the night of April 18, 1964. Yet his memory of several minutes of that Saturday night 54 years ago fails him.

The native of Springfield, Ohio has been married to wife Dorothy for 66 years with four daughters, 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

One day in 1964 is burned in his memory; most of the day, anyway.

Bill was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1945, with the war ending as he was in basic training. He was discharged in December 1946.

“I would have rather been in the Air Corps than the infantry anyway,” he told the News Journal from his Springfield home.

In 1955, Bill, Dorothy and the kids went on a trip to “the Indian mound near Hillsboro.” Returning home, the planes at the Clinton County Air Force Base in Wilmington caught his attention.

He said he went there with a buddy and they decided to join the Air Force Reserves. His friend, who had been in the Army Air Corps, was hired on. But Bill and Dorothy had a newborn daughter, so he wasn’t eligible to join until he could get a waiver.

He finally got into the Air Force Reserves, even though he had no aircraft experience. He enlisted as an automotive mechanic in the air police squadron because he “really enjoyed working on cars.”

It took more than a year, but he received his request to transfer to the flight line and he received on-the-job training as an air mechanic.

In April 1964, Bill was a Staff Sergeant.

“We were scheduled for an ORI (Operational Readiness Inspection). The regular Air Force comes in and tests flying crews as to their ability to be activated,” he said.

“We were going through procedures during the day for a flight of nine planes. My plane was scheduled to take off and we lined up on the runway.”

Because a storm was rolling in — and besides, his plane’s low-oil light was illuminated — his plane and those behind him on the runway returned to their parking spots and the mission was cancelled.

As evening approached, everyone prepared for the night mission. He said each plane had five or six paratroopers on board, with a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, flight mechanic and radio operator.

The nine C-119 “Flying Boxcar” transport planes were in “3-ship formations”, each with a plane in the lead plus two “wing” planes. His plane was a #2 wing.

They flew through plenty of clouds, “but they were real thin. We never lost sight of the lead plane, but it was like going through fog.”

Some of the other planes in back ran into the heavier part of the clouds, and they had to break formation several times.

“We flew the whole mission that way,” he said. “When we got to the IP (the initial point for the paratroopers’ timing drop), we couldn’t see the drop. We tried two to three times to find that point, then finally cancelled the mission.”

The planes returned and flew over the airfield in preparation for landing.

“When we flew over the field, it was clear as a bell,” he said. “A blue, pretty night.”

But as they turned to make the initial approach to land, they flew into a cloud and couldn’t see their lead aircraft.

They tried to locate the lights of the lead plane, but lost sight of it.

Then everything went blank.

The two planes had collided.

“I don’t remember seeing anything,” he said. “I don’t remember a thing until I hit the ground.”

He came to in a farm field near Melvin in Clinton County. He could hear pigs rooting in their feeders.

“I knew something had happened. On the ground I could see that my canopy had collapsed. I unfastened the harness in case the wind picked up. I didn’t want it to drag me.

“I tried to sit up, but I felt I would pass out. I decided to wait because I knew somebody would come.”

He heard a vehicle approaching.

“When I tried to move, it hurt. When they picked me up, it really hurt,” he said.

A field ambulance was called, then he was transferred to a private ambulance which took him to Clinton Memorial Hospital.

“I had a lot of cuts on my face, two broken collarbones, broken shoulder blade, compound fracture of the nose, a couple vertebrae had projections broken — C7 and T1.

“While they were sewing up my face, the chaplain came and talked to me, but I couldn’t tell him anything.”

Bill could hear another survivor moaning in a nearby room; it was Sgt. 1st Class William Kremer of Columbus.

Bill would learn that they were the only two survivors of the collision — 17 men had died.

Bill was in CMH for two nights, then he was transferred to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base where he recuperated for about three months.

When asked what his feelings were about his fellow reservists who didn’t survive the crash, he said, “You get close to the pilots and flight crew, but I wasn’t able to feel anything because I was trying to recover. It’s strange; I was in shock so much that it didn’t really register.”

Once he had recuperated, Bill said he was able to “get right back into flying” and he did just that until 1985, logging 3,500 hours in C-119s, then later as a flight engineer on C-130s.

He said he got to meet his fellow survivor, William Kremer, “a couple of times later, but he’s passed away.”

Bill Zugelder remains active at 91, still drives a car, and still makes an occasional trip to Wilmington for breakfast with the 302nd Buckeye Wing.

And he plans to be here for the April 21 Ohio historical marker dedication and remembrance ceremony of the 1964 air tragedy, set for 1:30 p.m. at J.W. Denver Williams Jr. Memorial Park in Wilmington.

Coming Friday and Saturday in the News Journal: How we covered the tragedy in 1964.

Two C-119 Flying Boxcars like this collided over Clinton County in 1964.
http://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2018/04/web1_C-119_Boxcar-Military-Air-Disaster-marker-3.jpgTwo C-119 Flying Boxcars like this collided over Clinton County in 1964. Courtesy photo

http://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2018/04/web1_Bill-honor-flight-2017-1.jpgSpringfield Exchange Club photo
Bill Zugelder reflects on ‘64 crash that claimed 17 lives

By Tom Barr

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The Ohio historical marker dedication and commemoration is at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at J.W. Denver Williams Jr. Memorial Park, Wilmington.

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