Port approves memorial request
The tail of the Globemaster survived the crash and fire in 1952.
MOSES LAKE - Port of Moses Lake commissioners approved a request to allow a new military memorial to be placed on property near the Grant County International Airport.
The memorial remembers 87 airmen killed in a crash when the airport was Larson Air Force Base. It took place on Dec. 20, 1952.
Airmen were going home to Texas for the holidays as part of "Operation Sleigh Ride." The C-124A Globemaster transporting the group crashed not long after takeoff.
To honor the airmen, Moses Lake Lions Club member Mike Bellgardt, along with other members, are raising funds to build a memorial.
The cost of a granite memorial is estimated at between $18,000 and $40,000, depending on the design, said Bellgardt this week.
He aims to have the memorial dedicated on Dec. 20, 2011, which is the 59th anniversary of the crash.
Commissioners did not approve spending port funds for the project. They simply agreed to allow the memorial to be built on port property.
The timing of adding the memorial and this year's arrival of Fairchild Air Force Base to Moses Lake are "perfect," Bellgardt said.
Bellgardt explained how one of his associates reached out to a son of Staff Sgt. Charles Welker, a crash survivor.
Welker fell out of the tail section of the airplane and helped drag other airmen from the wreckage, Bellgardt said.
The Welker family is excited about the memorial and they want the project started, Bellgardt said.
He showed commissioners a flyer about the project and a copy of a letter to the editor he wrote to the Columbia Basin Herald.
"I am hopeful our community is willing to come together and never forget this tragic accident and support our troops," he wrote in part.
People responded positively to the letter, letting Bellgardt know they are excited about the memorial and want to help.
Another Lions Club member, Scott Carver, wrote a monument company and received some design estimates.
Choices include using a single granite stone, or three stones.
For more information, e-mail grantcountymemorialfoundation@gmail.com.