Floyd, Herb, Garland, and Harry Nincehelser – 1942
We recently received a note from Lynette Wolff, great-niece of Garland Francis Nincehelser, the gunner who died in the crash of the B-17 near Palmersville.
Based on an old newspaper article, we had incorrectly listed his name, and Lynette was kind enough to correct us. We asked if she would provide any other information, and she sent the following about the young man who perished in the crash:
Garland was born November 5, 1916 in Peru, Nebraska to Harry and Nettie Nincehelser. He was the 2nd oldest of 6 children. He and his 3 brothers all fought in WW2. One of his brothers was injured in Italy and received the purple heart.
Garland left behind a wife, Anna, and a 1 year old daughter, Janice. He was 26 when he was killed. He is buried in Auburn, Nebraska at the Sheridan Cemetery.
Lynette also graciously provided the pictures for this article.
Garland (back row, 2nd from L) with his parents, siblings, and a niece and nephew. – 1942
We were recently contacted by Stephen C. Mullins, son of the radio operator, Sgt. Clyde Mullins, who was on the B-17 that crashed near P’ville. You can read more about the crash here and here. And here is a local TV report on the dedication of the monument to the airmen.
Scroll down to read how Stephen’s father remembered that day.
Stephen provided a the above high-quality photo of the crew with notes his father made about the disposition of each man:
Front Row – L to R:
Lt. Leonard J. Morence – Co-Pilot – survived – injured
Lt. Harry N. Anderson – Pilot – killed
Lt. John A. Stinson Jr. – Navigator – killed
Lt. Andrew G. Kohlhof – Bombadier – survived – injured
Back Row L to R
S/Sgt. Milton Gersfeld – Engineer – killed
Sgt. Clyde Mullins – Radio Operator – survived – uninjured
Sgt. Clement J. Funai – 2nd Armorer – killed
Sgt. Donald A. Goodner – Assist.-Engineer – killed
Sgt. Garland F Nincehelser – Gunner – killed
not shown:
Stg. O. R. French – 1st Armorer – killed
Here is what Stephen wrote:
Dad’s account of what happened went like this: The B-17 was in a bad storm. The pilot told the aircrew to get in their egress positions throughout the aircraft, in case they needed to bailout.
The pilot gave-up on trying to fly through the storm, and began circling and trying to climb above the storm. Dad (the radio operator) and the bombadier’s egress position was to lay in the bomb bay. In the event they needed to evacuate the plane, the copilot would open the bomb bay doors, and those two would fall out.
Also in the bomb bay were crates of ammunition and other supplies. As they tried to climb out of the storm, the plane suddenly went into a steep dive. Although the crates in the bomb bay were strapped down, they began to shift and were crushing against dad so hard, he could feel himself starting to pass-out. The sensation of blacking-out seemed so strange to him, he began trying to clinch his fists shut, but couldn’t do so before he went unconscious.
He regained consciousness in midair, and had enough wits about him to pull his ripcord. He remembered floating overtop of a farmhouse, where a lady, with a baby on her hip, was gathering laundry off the clothesline, before the impending storm.
In hearings about the crash, the copilot testified he never opened the bomb bay doors, suggesting the plane may have broken in half near the bomb bay—the likely reason dad and the bombadier got out of the plane.
Hello, Palmersville Historical Society. My name is Kevin Brewer. I am a history teacher in Big Sandy.
I have here a photograph of my father, J. T. Brewer (second from the right), who died in 2001, representing Big Sandy High School in a basketball tournament award ceremony in 1960.
I am told by my uncle that the player to his right, in the “Pirate” jersey, is a Larry Rawls of Palmersville. [a reader corrected this informatoin — it’s Jerry Rawls]
I thought it might be interesting to see if anyone in Palmersville recognizes him or either of the young women.
Palmersville School has had many outstanding principals throughout its history. Listening to visitors at the Historical Society’s building reminisce as they view the senior pictures hanging around the room, one hears so many stories beginning with, “Do you remember when Mr. (you finish the question). . . .
The two men with the longest tenure as principals were Mr. Carl J. McDaniel and Mr. Robin Montgomery; both were principals for nineteen years respectively. Although neither were natives of Palmersville, they made it their permanent home and raised their families here. “Mr. Mac,” as he was lovingly called, passed away June 14, 2003 and his wife “Miss Polly” passed away February 26, 2006. (As of April, 2006 when this article was originally written, Robin and his wife Sherry (Oliver) continued to reside in Palmersville.)
Following is the list of principals at Palmersville:
Palmersville Historical Society 