Mount Bolduc bomber wreck a WW2 Tragedy
For the better part of an hour, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2003, they weren’t alone.
For almost an hour that Remembrance Day, six young airmen who died for their country on a lonely mountain peak west of Cowichan Lake, April 25, 1944, were saluted in a special graveside service by military personnel and civilians.
It was a deserving and moving tribute for FOs John Ernest Moyer and Ambrose Moynagh, W01 Lawrence Kerr, WO2 Brimley George Henry Palmer, Sgt. Harry Arthur Maki and LAC Murray Thomas Robertson, who are buried at the crash site.
The inspiration behind the special Remembrance Day memorial service actually dated back to another tragedy of Sept. 15, 2001 when William Thomas MacFarlane suffered a fatal heart attack while visiting the site. Among the emergency crews who responded were members of the Honeymoon Bay Volunteer Fire Dept. Aside from the issue at hand, Fire Chief John Rowley, who hadn’t been to the site before that day, was “quite moved by what we saw”.
Ventura bomber struck the mountainside at high speed
He began researching the tragic story behind the loss of Lockheed Vega-Ventura bomber V2218 which, perhaps lost in clouds, struck a tree at an estimated 200 miles per hour and literally disintegrated. The 200-foot-long debris trail, despite a resulting fire that burned for days, and 60 years of forest growth show the force with which the two-engine bomber hit the ground, only two of its crewmen being found within its shattered body.
A massive search for the plane from No. 115 Squadron (‘Beware’), which had been en route to Tofino from Patricia Bay, included a U.S. Navy dirigible and loggers from Rounds Camp. When David Beech, a skidder engineer, and J.G. Pappenberger, head loader, saw smoke and notified police, the RCAF’s Aircraft Detection Corps led by FO Godwin landed by seaplane at Honeymoon Bay. Subsequent flying conditions were so bad that one wireless operator became airsick.
On Sunday, the fourth day, with the wreckage being marked by the hovering American ‘blimp,’ airmen, police and Lake Logging Co. employees William Crapo, William Green, Arthur Wayment, Peter Kachnia and Rayond LeFleur scaled a steep mountain face.
“Often clinging like flies to the steep cliff,” a news report states, they finally arrived at the still-smouldering wreck. By the extent of the damage and the distance between the bodies it was believed that all had died instantly. The next day, an RCAF team and acting coroner Dr. Joseph Tassin decided that it “would be practically impossible to remove the bodies for burial” and interred them on the site.
Airmen are still on Mt. Bolduc
They’re there today, hence the 2003 memorial service with Honeymoon Bay’s Chief Rowley, wife Shelly Ogden, Rick Swanson, Dean Metzler, Jim Fitzmaurice, members of the media, a group of hunters who’d arranged to meet at the site, and 12 officers from 407 Marine Patrol Squadron at 19 Wing Comox.
These airmen, who perform the same duty as their ill-fated predecessors, “surveillance in support of Canadian sovereignty” off the west coast in a CP 140 Aurora, were commanded by Maj. Alistair MacKay. They’d visited the site with Chief Rowley in October to begin planning for the Remembrance Day service.
Present that Tuesday were Maj. MacKay and Leblanc, Capt. Vaino, East, Lamb, Wright and Faulkner, Lt. Lanoie and Sgt. Corkery and Jackson.
At precisely 11:00 a.m., the detail came to attention alongside the common grave. After a moment of silence Sgt. Steve Jackson, standing atop a knoll, piped Amazing Grace, its haunting strains drifting through the trees and across the valley in eerie tribute.
Capt. Faulkner read a prayer
Capt. Brent Vaino read the names of the dead: Moynagh, Moyer, Kerr, Palmer, Maki and Robertson. Capt. Randy Faulkner read a brief prayer: “We pray that as their successors, as fellow airmen, we would be found worthy of their sacrifice. We know almost 60 years have passed since the tragic accident which claimed these lives. But we pray that You give us the strength to ensure that their memory will continue on, to ensure that they will not be forgotten.”
Lt. Pat Lanoie and Sgt. Tim Corkery placed a wreath at the foot of the grave which today is marked by a bronze plaque. After several Scottish ballads by Sgt. Jackson, the airmen came to attention and were dismissed, and the media gathered up their camera gear. Before all filed down the steep, winding trail to where the vehicles were parked on a logging road, one serviceman after another stuck his poppy in the rotting tree stump at the head of the grave.
Back at the vehicles, as the airmen again stood at attention, one of the hunters fired an impromptu three-shot rifle salute.
Minutes later, the V2218’s tragic crew was again alone in the 10-acre tract of old-growth forest which has been preserved as their cemetery.
Those who attended that unique service will never forget Remembrance Day 2003.
Thank you for posting this information. Through my recent geneology research, I have discovered that I am related through marriage to one of the lost airmen, sgt Harry Arthur Maki. Do you know if any photos were taken during the service?
At the site there is the remnants of an old picture laminated onto a piece of wood. An there’s a small brass plaque on the bottom engraved with “Sgt. H. A. Maki 1925- 1944.”
It looks like a fairly recent addition to the site. I wonder if one was made for each airmen when the cairn and plaque were added to the crash site in the late ’80s (that’s another story).
It’s even more moving to wonder if a family member had it made and brought it to the site in recent years.
HI, Darrell:
I know the signboard. I don’t know who undertook to do it and, likely, for the others in years gone by. The sign’s deterioration suggests it was a long time ago.
If memory serves, the Maki family relations were only brought into the Bolduc story in recent years through newspaper coverage, meaning that it’s unlikely they commissioned the sign.
That said, I can’t see anyone having acknowledged but a single airman of six. There was a small, homemade signboard made by the family for the man who had a fatal heart attack while visiting the site in recent years, however.
Your email reminds me of my project for a memorial for all the airman (well over 100) who were killed while flying out of Pat Bay Airport, etc. during WW2. –TWP
I was up at site with a couple of friends over a year ago and found the site vandalized and the pictures and plaque gone.turned what I found to the honeymoon bay cafe.
Hi, Ron: I’ve not been there for 5 years or more so can’t vouch for its present state. It certainly was in good shape when I last visited. What can we possibly say about sickos who’d vandalize a grave site? One for men who died for their–our country–to boot!
This reminds me that there should be a proper memorial for the 125+ airmen who were killed flying out of Patricia Bay Airport during the war. But there isn’t. Only in Canada, eh? –TWP
I’m pretty sure my family made the plaque for harry maki. My grandfathers brother they visited the crash site after years of searching.
Thanks, Darrell, for passing this on. A visit to Mt. Bolduc, as I’ve written, is a moving experience and one that I’d recommend to all who are capable to reaching the site. I continue to research the ‘lost airmen’ of Patricia Bay Airport, to make a small book of it in tribute to these men, so many of whom have been overlooked by other historic researchers.
Kerri, do you mean pics of the service when they were buried, if so, I have some. Harry Arthur Maki was my husbands brother. We visited the grave site in June of 2005. Harry was born in Sudbury & went to school here. Barb. Maki
Harry’s brother (Bob Maki wife Barb. & daughter Laura-Lee ) brought the laminated picture up & laid it on the grave site in 2005
Hi, Barbara Maki: Darrell Ohs passed on your email to him re: photos of the Mt. Bolduc plane wreck of which I’ve written about, not just on my website but in one of my books and in the ‘Cowichan Valley Citizen,’ a newspaper published in Duncan, B.C.. I’m hoping to write a small book about all the ‘lost airmen’ who flew out of Pat Bay Airport during WW2 only to be lost without ever getting overseas. They need to be remembered. –TWP
Hi, Kari: I’ve just discovered yours and several other readers’ emails; I apologize for the delay.
Yes, I have more photos of that Remembrance Day on Mt. Bolduc if that’s what you mean. If you see this, get back to me and I’ll email them to you. –TW
Keep this going please, great job!
myself and some friends visited the site on july 11 2014…very humbling…
Very humbling, indeed, Richard. I’ve not been back to Mt. Bolduc for several years but am determined to visit the wrecksite again. –TWP
Hello,
I am the niece of Sgt. Harry Maki. We made the climb a few years back and left the picture of my Uncle on the piece of wood at the site. It was my father’s wish (Robert Maki), that he visit the site of his brothers resting place. My father, in poor health at the time, made the climb with us, the military, and a group of wonderful geo-cachers who had located the site previously. It was my understanding that family members of one or two of the other airmen had been to the site in previous years. My father has now since passed away, but I remember clearly that day on the mountain when we paid respect not only to my Uncle, but his fellow airmen that never made it home!
Thank you, thank you, Laura-Lee!
You’ve no idea how much joy it gives me to receive a letter from a descendant of one of the brave airmen who died on Mt. Bolduc.
Or how much joy it gives me to be able to write about them and thus to honour them and the 125-plus airmen who were killed during WW2 while flying out of Pat Bay Airport.
I’ve been to Mt. Bolduc several times and want to go back. In the meantime, I’ll continue to research and to write about them and their comrades for an e-book which, in its modest way, will be another small memorial. It’s almost done but I keep having to deal with other projects…
Ultimately, I’d like to see a proper memorial made for them at Pat Bay (now Victoria International Airport). Thank you again for dropping by. And please come again! –TWP
Hello Laura-Lee,
If you could send me another photo of your uncle I would be happy to recover the brass nameplate and build a more weatherproof plaque to protect the photo. I’m thinking that laminating the image between Plexiglass panes would preserve it for years to come.
Hi. I’m just seeing this now…can you send me your email and I’ll send you the picture. lauraleemaki.green@gmail.com
Please check your email; I’ve answered you personally as I don’t give out my email address here. –TWP
Hi TW,
Thank you for your writing on this bit of history.
My uncle was FO Ambrose Moynagh. During my work on our family history I came across the details of the tragedy on Mt. Bolduc in newspaper clippings from 1944 and then later descriptions and pictures from various websites. I have not been to the crash site but it is nice to be able to read the stories of those who have.
My pleasure, Ted. Last month I spoke to the Nanaimo Historical Society to a ‘sold-out’ audience on the Lost Airmen of Pat Bay Airport. As I continue my research into their deaths and disappearances I keep hoping that I can inspire a proper memorial at today’s Victoria International Airport in their memory.
Here’s hoping. Thank you for commenting.
Would you have a photo of FO Moynagh that I might use to further tell the story of the men on Mt. Bolduc? –TWP
Sorry to be so tardy in replying. Yes I have a picture of FO Moynagh that I could send you. Do you have an email I could send it to?
Ted
just this past weekend I visited the site for the first time. Its humbling to see the grave and the tree overlooking it covered in poppies. There is a fairly new looking sign with details about the plane and a info about the men who rest there. My dad who had been to the site 4 or 5 years ago said it wasn’t there the last time he had been there. With recent logging activity its an easy 2 minute walk from the road into the site. The plaque with Sgt. Maki’s picture is still there, although very weathered and a little difficult to read.
we did also spot some urns in the base of a tree nearby the cairn, they don’t look very old, does anyone know the story of those?
As you say, it’s humbling to visit the wreckage at Mt. Bolduc-and at other wartime aircraft wreck sites, for that matter. It always strikes me as particularly sad that these men died in the service of their–our–country without ever getting overseas. We must never forget them. –TWP
We tried to find it. Drove to the end of the road at the top of the mountain and couldnt find the trail. Was there supposed to be a marker or how do we find it?
It’s been so long now,I’d have trouble finding it myself. And it wasn’t marked when I was there. Today, I’d ask at the Honeymoon Bay store, for starters. I hope you persist; it is well worth a visit. You’ll never forget it. –TWP
Such a tragedy should be remembered in a similar manner to those memorials of the war dead. Moynagh is not a common name. I do believe that the name is originally ancient Scottish and was spelled Moyna. The name Moynagh is an Irish derivation. Many scots moved to Ireland to escape a famine in their own country.
I don’t know the origin of ‘Moynagh’ but it is an interesting name, be it of Irish or Scottish descent. I would like to see a memorial established to all the airmen who were killed flying out of Pat Bay Airport during WW2, including, of course, the tragic crew on Mount Bolduc.
Mr. Paterson I hope that you are still receiving relies to your wonderful tribute to these fallen airmen.
Ambrose Moynagh was my husband’s Uncle.
I have lots of information on his family if you wanted to add to the information you already have for him.
To have his gravesite remembered is wonderful. Thank you so much.
HI, Linda: Further to my email, I just want to repeat for the benefit of readers that I eagery seek any and all information regarding the airmen who were lost without ever getting overseas during WW2. I’ve been working for several years on a book, In Friendly Skies: The Lost Airmen of Pat Bay, my tribute to the almost 200 young men who perished in accidents while training.
Because I’ve been to Mt. Bolduc it has particular meaning for me; most plane wrecks, even when their location is known, are all but inaccessible. Again, thank you for writing. –TW
Hello T W ,my fascination with these war time plane crashes has been with me for 45yrs .Back in 1974 as a teenager in Lake Cowichan high school,we had already heard and visited the mt Bolduc crash site .One summer day in 1975 I had the chance to talk for sometime with an old timer from Youbou that had been a Coast Ranger in the war years,he told me the story of another wartime plane that crashed in the same week of May 1944 ,that he had been part of the search effort .
This new information created a fire in my belly to try and find this crash site .I next travelled to Victoria to read over the 1944 news micro films and learned of the crash site being in the Mt Wymper mountain area of Copper Canyon .In the ensuing 3yrs ,I had several hikes and climbed mountains hunting for that site,Finally in 1978 I was able to locate the site.
In the last 40years I had thought many times about that site ,finally I tried to relocate it in 2012 ,took me a bit ,but was able to find it again .In 1978 there was a small bronze plack with the 5crew members names ,I was unable to locate that plack .
For 45 years I have always wondered certain details about that crash site ,unable to get details .I was able to read a great book written by the late Joe Gardener , that had a small chapter about the crash ,and search and the troubles with the US airforce deridgeable,but still my question wasn’t answered.
With your vast knowledge on these historical crash sites ,would you know the type of aircraft? I know it was a twin engine ,with I believe 5crew members ,and if memory serves me right ,it flew out of Boundry Bay?
Access to this site is impeded at Rhinehart Lake with a gate,it is sad that this site can’t get the national recognition that the Bolduc and the recent site near Port Renfew get .This crash site and the work that was done in the search and the retrieval of the gondola is a very fascinating story that should be remembered!
If you know any details , like the type of plane,I would love to hear.
Hi, Bill: I can answer your questions but I’m running a week behind right now so please bear with me. I shall get back to asap. –TW
Merry Christmas to you all from Lake Cowichan:
We have now performed 2 memorial tribute runs this year with the Cowichan Valley ATV Club to Mount Bolduc. One on April 21 2019 to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the crash and one on Sunday November 10th for Remembrance Day. They were all well attended and a service was held by Pastor David Sterling of Royal Canadian Legion Branch #210. In November 50 people listened to a piper who played “Amazing Grace” in the still of the forest and a 2 minute silence was observed to honour the crew and all RCAF personnel who died in WW2.
We have recently concluded extensive research on the crash, and with the aid of official reports have reconstructed the last flight of Ventura 2218. We’re proposing another visit to the site on April 25th 2020 to mark the 76th Anniversary of the crash. In association with the Vancouver Island Military Museum, we are also considering a memorial display for our local museum in Lake Cowichan to honour the crew and to include accurate models of the 2 aircraft which set out on the Navigation Training Exercise from 115 Squadron in Tofino on the evening of April 25th 1944. We are therefore looking for photographs and as much information as possible on the 6 aircrew who lost their lives and would like to hear from any surviving family members. I can be reached at pjlakecowichan@gmail.com
Thank you.
I am more than pleased to pass your letter and request on to my readers. The lost airmen of Pat Bay Airport during the Second World War are special to me–in fact, I’m writing a book (off and on as time an energy permit) about them. I’ll never forget my Remembrance Day visit to Mt. Bolduc and look forward to doing it again. Please stay in touch! –TW
Thank you for replying. We are particularly anxious to obtain photos of the airmen to place in the proposed memorial exhibit. We have photos of Pilot Officer Ambrose “Ambie” Moynagh and Sergeant Harry Maki. PJ.
I think–think–I have a photo of a third airman. Please let me get back to you in a few days. And keep up the good work! –TW
Hi there..do you have the photo of a third airman?
Hi, Paul:
With four computers over the past five years, 1000s of files, backup CDs, DVDs, flash drives and three external hard drives, I’ve found filing and retrieving files to be a challenge.
That said, I found two photos relating to Mt.Bolduc: One of Sgt. Maki, and one showing three of her crew. I know–I think–I have a third photo showing four-five airmen in front of what I take to be the Ventura.
A problem I’ve had is that Open Office defaults JPGs into open documents, meaning that it corrupts the res. BUT: The two photos I dug out last week are on my old XHD and are in their original JPG format.
Finally, Paul, I still work 16 hours a day at three jobs and on two websites (this one and my new site, http://www.CowichanChronicles.com). I will get back to you re: the photos but you’re going to have to bear with me a bit longer. Cheers, TW
Just found this webpage. John Ernest Moyer was my Grandfather’s cousin. They grew up together in and around Vineland Ontario. My Grandfather talked about wanting to visit the crash site but has since passed away.
Hi, Todd. I’m glad you found my website. You have no idea how much satisfaction it gives me to honour airmen such as John Moyer and his crewmates. I’m working right now to encourage the Regional District of Nanaimo to erect a memorial in Mt. Benson Park to the memory of 23 people who died in the crash of their passenger plane on Mt. Benson in 1951. I’m also chipping away at a book on the 190-odd airmen who were killed while serving at Patricia Bay Airport during the war. To me, the worst fate of all is to be forgotten! Cheers, TW
Hello again from Lake Cowichan:
If you are descendants of any of the crew of Lockheed Ventura RCAF 2218 which crashed on Mt. Bolduc on the evening of April 25th 1944, I would like to hear from you. We are planning a permanent display at our museum as a memorial to three of the crashes in and around Lake Cowichan during WW2. 2 years ago, as part of the Lake Cowichan 75th Anniversary celebrations, we commissioned a 1/4 scale model of Ventura 2218 in its authentic colour and markings. This was beautifully executed by Pat Murphy of the Vancouver Island military Museum and is waiting to be placed in the display which is due to be completed by the end of this month. We are seeking more information and photos of the crew. Please contact me by email at pjlakecowichan@gmail.com
Thank you
Paul Jordan
Hi again, Paul. I’m pleased that you are carrying on this great project. I’m also going to post your letter and a recap of the Mt. Bolduc story on my new website, http://www.CowichanChronicles.com. I look forward to seeing the Ventura model. –TW
thank you for an awesome report and pix…I also thank you for the goosebumps as I read the story… I myself am a wreck/chaser since 2001…great hobby for me and have completed 1/2 a fox wrench/hunts… thanks again… cheers!
Hi, Stan: A week ago I made my second visit to the Canso wreck on Mount Benson. I’ve been researching plane crashes, primarily military, for years and am writing a book on the lost airmen of Pat Bay Airport during WW2.
The Mount Bolduc site is a particularly poignant one for those who visit it.
Back to the Benson crash: when it happened in 1951, with 23 victims, it was B.C.’s worst aviation disaster; today it’s the 18th. Progress, eh?
Hi TW. Back in your 2015 reply you mentioned wanting to inspire a memorial at Victoria International Airport in memory or these aviators. In June 2017 VAA opened their “Lost Airmen of the Empire” memorial but it doesn’t seem to include this Mt. Bolduc loss. Is it limited to the Pat Bay Squadrons and not include 115 Squadron?
Thanks. Ted
Hi, Ted: According to the Lost Airmen of the Empire Memorial, it’s dedicated thus:
The “Lost Airmen of the Empire” memorial commemorates and acknowledges the contributions and sacrifices of the 179 people who perished while posted to or were working at the Royal Canadian Air Force Station Patricia Bay during World War II. The memorial is located on Hospital Hill on the north side of the Victoria International Airport on Mills Road in North Saanich, BC.
All those men died in the service of their country without ever getting overseas. –TW
Hello all:
There is a framed plaque at the BC Aviation Museum in Sidney.
https://www.bcam.net/ honoring the lost aircrew of Ventura 2218 on Mount Bolduc.
If you’ve not visited this extremely well appointed aviation museum, you should do so. It’s hours well spent and very “kid friendly”. You’d be surprised at the extent of their restoration workshop which is currently bringing an Avro Lancaster back to life.
We have also created a memorial display at the Kaatza Museum in Lake Cowichan with an accurate model of 2218 built by Pat Murphy of the Vancouver Island Military Museum in Nanaimo.
https://militarymuseum.ca/
Pat has also created a display at the VIMM featuring aircraft used in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan at Pat Bay. Again a military Museum well worth visiting with very high quality displays.
Seasons Greeting to you all.
Paul Jordan (Lake Cowichan)
Yes, to all of the above, Paul. And Merry Christmas to you, too. –TW
Hello Everyone
Great Comments and an excellent site.
I wish to correct an earlier post regarding a “framed plaque” in the BC Aviation Museum memorializing those persons killed in the Mount Bolduc crash. No such plaque exists, or has ever existed in the BC Aviation Museum.
Also, the “Lost Airmen” memorial on the airfield commemorates the 179 persons who perished during the Second World War while posted to or working at RCAF Station Patricia Bay, or who were aboard aircraft from that airport. As such, it does not include those unfortunate persons who lost their lives in the Mount Bolduc crash.
Doug Rollins
Librarian / Historian
BC Aviation Museum
Thank you so much for this, Doug. This is an ongoing research project for me. Areminder to readers that there is a display with, I believe, a model of a Ventura bomber, in the Kaatza Station Museum, Lake Cowichan.
Hello Everyone
Great Comments and an excellent site.
I wish to correct an earlier post regarding a “framed plaque” in the BC Aviation Museum memorializing those persons killed in the Mount Bolduc crash. No such plaque exists, or has ever existed in the BC Aviation Museum.
Also, the “Lost Airmen” memorial on the airfield commemorates the 179 persons who perished during the Second World War while posted to or working at RCAF Station Patricia Bay, or who were aboard aircraft from that airport. As such, it does not include those unfortunate persons who lost their lives in the Mount Bolduc crash.
Doug Rollins
Librarian / Historian
BC Aviation Museum
Much aporeciated, Doug. You probably know that the Kaatza Museum in Lake Cowichan has created an exhibit honouring the men on Mount Bolduc.
Hello TW , I wrote a reply to this thread in 2019 concerning another lost aircrew in the vincinity of Copper Canyon /Naniamo lks that happened in May 1944 .As I had written ,as a youth I searched many times and eventually found the wreckage of this doomed flight .Over the last 45+ yrs I have managed to piece together small details, especially about the search and subsequent retrieval of the gondola from the US “blimp” that was lost at the crash site . I was wondering if you had in your vast inventory of historical sources any more details concerning this disaster, it is sad that this tragedy has been allowed to fade ,and has not received the recognition of the MT Buldock crash.
Hi, Bill: Can you be more specific when you say, “in the vicinity of Copper Canyon/Nanaimo”? I have to pull lmy files for a previous commentator and any specifics you can add to this will help me. Thanks, look forward to learning more from you. –TW
Hello TW ,the plane crashed in early May 1944 ,on the north side of Mt Wymper in a box canyon .It was a twin engine bomber ,with 5 crew members.It crashed within a couple weeks of the Mt Buldoc crash ,and the deridgeable that was used at Mt Buldoc was flown over to this crash site ,subsequently being lost in the forest canopy .It deserves the respect given the Mt Buldoc crash.
Hi, Bill: This was one of two (I believe) Mitchell B-25 bombers that crashed in B.C.during WW2. I’ve wanted to go to this one for years but the logging roads have been deactivated although quadders can still get in, I’ve been told. John Taylor told me that he led a government party to the site in the 1990s to mark it as a grave site. New information has come in on the Lawn Point crash that I wrote about a week or so ago so I’m going to revise that post and I’ll check my files on the Whymper crash. And the dirigible. Thanks for writing and stay tuned. –TW