[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16781-16782]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING THE NAPER 28

  Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Madam President, August 3, 2004 marks the 
60th anniversary of what is believed to be the worst military aviation 
disaster in the history of the State of Nebraska. At 8:25 p.m. an Army 
C-47 transport airplane dropped from the sky near Naper, NE, killing 28 
brave World War II servicemen. The dead included 26 Army pilots, one 
flight surgeon, and an aircraft crew chief. They were traveling from 
the Bruning, NE air base to Pierre, SD to complete their training 
before being shipped off to war.
  On August 8, Naper Historical Society of Boyd County, NE will 
dedicate a permanent memorial to the Naper 28. They raised funds for 
the Naper 28 Memorial through a donation campaign. What is perhaps most 
touching about this fundraising effort is not the funds themselves, not 
even the speed with which they came, but it was the sentiments attached 
by way of note or letter from other World War II veterans or their 
widows. At the time of the disaster, very little attention was paid to 
this aviation disaster. Though it commemorates the tragedy that befell 
the Naper 28, the memorial at Knollcrest Cemetery in Naper, NE, also 
bears witness to a more enduring lesson in bravery and valor and 
preserving the freedom that defines America.
  No doubt, the town of Naper, and citizens throughout Boyd County are 
delighted finally to have a fitting memorial for the 28 servicemen who 
lost their lives in 1944. It is fitting that the Naper 28 Memorial will 
be dedicated the same year as the National World War II Memorial in 
Washington, DC. This year marks an especially commemorative year for 
America's veterans, and is a year when all Americans gratefully 
remember and honor the bravery and valor with which America fought in 
World War II.
  Anniversaries, like the 60th anniversary of D-Day and the 60th 
anniversary of the Naper 28, are important reminders about our history 
as a Nation, and about our character as Americans.
  As America pauses to recall the thankless bravery and sacrifice of 
those who died protecting our freedoms on D-Day, the people of Naper 
and all Nebraska also pause to remember the tragedy and sacrifices and 
lost opportunities of the Naper 28.
  I submit the names of the brave souls of the Naper 28, as they appear 
on the memorial in Naper, NE, as further commemoration of their 
sacrifice.
  They are as follows:

                              The Naper 28

     F/O John F. Albert
     2nd Lt. Willam F. Acree
     2nd Lt. William Armstrong
     2nd Lt. Millard F. Arnett, Jr.
     2nd Lt. Herbert A. Blakeslee
     2nd Lt. George E. Broeckmann
     2nd Lt. Robert K. Bohle
     2nd Lt. Jack L. Brown
     2nd Lt. Richard E. Brown
     2nd Lt. James C. Burke, Jr.
     2nd Lt. Donald J. Clarkson
     2nd Lt. Lloyd L. Hemphill
     Sgt. Orson I. Hutslar
     2nd Lt. Arthur Johnson
     Capt. Clayton R. Jolley
     Capt. Leonard C. Jolley
     2nd Lt. Gerald C. Keller
     2nd Lt. Jack E. Lytle
     Capt. Stanley J. Meadows
     2nd Lt. Robert E. Nesbitt, Jr.
     2nd Lt. Bernard W. O'Malley
     2nd Lt. Anthony J. Paladino
     2nd Lt. Bruce S. Patterson
     2nd Lt. Lelan A. Pope
     2nd Lt. Charles V. Porter
     Capt. Leslie B. Roberts
     2nd Lt. Pat N. Roberts, Jr.
     2nd Lt. LaVon H. Sehorn

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