PLANE CRACKS UP IN STORM; 7 DEAD.

TRANSPORT SHIP REDUCED TO SMALL PIECES.

New Orleans, May 28 (AP) -- The Louisiana National Guard announced today that a twin-engine army transport plane from Roswell Field, N. M., had crashed 20 miles southwest of Baton Rouge, killing all seven persons aboard.
The dead were identified at:
1st Lt. PHILIP R. VAUGHN, the pilot.
2nd Lt. K. R. BAILEY, co-pilot.
Capt. H. E. ZETTLE.
Master Sergeant H. HUMAN, all of Roswell Field.
Three enlisted men who were hitch-hiking to bases of the west coast.
Names of the hitch-hikers were given as:
W. J. GOST.
G. K. CHRISTIAN.
D. W. DAVIS.
No home addresses were available.
P. A. MARTIN, of near Rosedale, La., where the crash occurred, said the wreck was not discovered until today because of the storm.
"The plane hit the ground nose first and apparently exploded," he said. "It dug a hole 10 to 15 feet deep and 18 feet wide at the top, as long as the plane."
"It is the worst demolished thing I have ever seen. Pieces of plane and portions of bodies are scattered for hundreds of feet around.

Logansport Press Indiana 1948-05-29
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!