How Geology Helped Solve 75-year old WWII Mysteries of Central Wyoming

Mark Milliken

Friends of the Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum, (Friends)

Preserving the history of Casper Army Air Field (CAAF), 1942-1945

CAAF trained 18,000 B-17 and B-24 bomber combat aircrewmen during 1942-1945. There were 90 training crashes and 136 fatalities. The Friends’ mission is to assist the Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum in locating and documenting lost CAAF crash sites, and memorializing the lost aircrews.

Lost crash sites found and documented by the Friends include: Murchison crew (B-24J, January 1, 1945, 6 men), Zorn crew (B-24J, June 17, 1944, 8 men), and Machala crew (B-17F, February 23,1943, 10 men). Current landowners have no idea that horrific and tragic crashes occurred on their land. Due to confusing and inaccurate reported locations, geology and geomorphology were applied to help find the sites.

In 2020, Friends researchers discovered the Murchison B-24J south of Casper after being lost for 75 years. In 2021, the Friends invited 19 living relatives of the crew to Casper for a memorial service on the site. The Wyoming Army National Guard conducted a full military funeral service for the six crewmen.

In 2021, Friends discovered the Machala B-17F site after being lost for over 60 years. The site is NW of Douglas, Wyoming, and many miles from locations in newspaper and AAF reports and previous searches.  Friends are currently researching living relatives of the Machala crew. A memorial service is planned for July 2022.

In 2021, Friends discovered the Zorn B-24J site on Casper Mountain. Although the crash site was widely known by local residents many years ago, modern landowners typically have no knowledge about it. Due to development, little or no evidence of the crash site remains today. With assistance from Casper College, the Friends are researching living relatives of the Zorn crew. A memorial service is planned for 2023.

Casper residents responded with funds for a granite memorial marker at the Murchison site. We are currently accepting support for similar monuments for the Machala and Zorn crews.

Mark Milliken Bio:

Mark is a consulting Petroleum Geologist and owner of Triangle G Consulting, LLC in Casper. Professional experience includes several oil and gas production and consulting engineering companies in the Rocky Mountain region and the western United States.

He has been associated with the Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum since 2000, and is currently on the Museum’s Board of Directors. Being a veteran himself, Mark visits veterans under hospice care.