South Portland A-26 Invader crash
43°38′6″N 70°18′55.9″W / 43.63500°N 70.315528°W
The Long Creek Air Tragedy Memorial is a commemorative granite structure built to memorialize the victims of the worst aviation accident in Maine history. It is located at the intersection of Westbrook Street and MacArthur Circle West in South Portland.
History
On July 11, 1944, at 4:45 PM,[1] U.S. Army Lt. Phillip "Phee" Russell was attempting to land his Douglas A-26 Invader at the Portland-Westbrook Municipal Airport. Russell was accompanied by navigator Staff Sargent Wallace Mifflin. For reasons that were never fully determined, Russell lost control of the plane and crashed into a trailer park in South Portland's Brick Hill neighborhood. 19 people were killed and 20 people were injured — mostly the families of South Portland shipyard workers — making it the worst aviation accident in Maine history.[2][3]
66 years later, the Long Creek Air Tragedy Memorial was erected to commemorate the crash and honor the victims.[4]
The granite for the memorial came from a quarry in Wells, Maine—the same quarry that supplied granite for the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.
References
- ^ Billings, Randy (1 April 2010). "Fundraising for South Portland air crash memorial faces June deadline". The Forecaster. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
It happened at 4:45 p.m. on July 11, 1944.
- ^ Cornish, Caroline (11 July 2010). "Long Creek Air Tragedy Memorial is dedicated". WCSH. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- ^ Billings, Randy (1 July 2010). "South Portland air crash memorial takes shape, dedication planned for July 11". The Forecaster. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- ^ Hudson, Diane (16 July 2010). "South Portland honors Long Creek air crash victims". The Forecaster. Retrieved 21 July 2010.