by Mike Matzinger
If you’ve ever trekked at Philmont Scout Ranch, you have seen or heard about the wreckage scattered across Trail Peak.
For generations of Scouts and Scouters, it’s been a memorable stop along the trail. But how many know the story behind it?
On April 22, 1942, a B-24 Liberator on a training mission crashed into Trail Peak during severe weather, claiming the lives of all eight crew members. The aircraft had departed Albuquerque that morning on what was supposed to be a routine navigation training flight. Today, the wreckage remains one of the most visited aircraft crash sites in the world, thanks to the thousands of Scouts who pass by it each summer.
One detail I found especially meaningful is that 2nd Lt. Roland Jeffries, a crew member, was an Eagle Scout. Another reminder of the many connections between Scouting and our nation’s armed forces.
A recent article in Vintage Aviation News by Michael W. Michelsen Jr. does an excellent job of telling the full story of the crew, the mission, the search effort, and what investigators now believe really caused the crash.
https://vintageaviationnews.com/warbird-articles/the-final-flight-of-b-24-liberator-41-1133.html