GRAND FORKS – On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2022, as Peggy Vanyo watched the B-52 replica being installed in Veterans Memorial Park, she got an idea.
“I learned the story about the bomber” from Brigadier General Al Palmer, who led the process of acquiring the replica, Vanyo recalled. She heard about the “tragic accident” that occurred Jan. 27, 1983, at Grand Forks Air Force base, when a bomber exploded, killing five service members.
She knew the display should include a plaque, describing the event and commemorating its victims. As chapter regent, she brought the idea to her fellow members of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Prairie Grass chapter.
“The community should know the story of this event,” she said.
With the formal dedication of the plaque Tuesday, Oct. 8, Vanyo said, “we’ve completed Gen. Palmer’s story.”
The plaque, placed on a three-foot-high reinforced concrete base, stands near the B-52 replica of aircraft 6507 that is attached to a 12-foot pole in the northwest corner of the park. The cost to create and install the plaque was covered by donations from members of the DAR Prairie Grass Chapter, Vanyo said.
The replica represents the bomber that exploded Jan. 27, 1983, killing U.S. Air Force service members – four men and a woman – who had gone on board to fix an equipment problem discovered after training exercises that day. The explosion, which occurred when the valve motor ignited fuel vapor in the tank, resulted in the fuselage falling to the ground, blocking the crew exit and leaving the technicians trapped inside the craft as it burned.
Those who perished that day were: Senior Airman Robert William Gray, 23; Airman 1st Class Michael F. McDonald, 23; Airman 1st Class Anthony M. Salva, 21; Senior Airman Scott A. Wicik, 24; and Airman 1st Class Robin D. Rise, 20. Some in this group were married with children.
That day, the crew chief Senior Airman Gray and his crew members were filling in for another crew, whose chief was out sick that day.
With each airman’s name, Vanyo recited a short biography, including the cemetery name and location where each is buried. Gray is buried in Arlington Cemetery in Washington, D.C., others are buried in cemeteries in Nebraska, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Mayor Brandon Bochenski said the memorial display, featuring the B-52 bomber, is a reminder “that our servicemen are at risk not just on foreign lands, but here too.”
The victims of the terrible accident were all in their early 20s, Bochenski noted. “Today, they’d be in their early 60s, with children and grandchildren.”
Bochenski also paid homage to General Palmer, of the North Dakota Air National Guard, whose leadership of the Veterans Memorial Park Committee was integral to the planning and development of the park.
Bochenski noted that Palmer died, at age 69, on Nov. 16, 2021, about two months after the park was formally dedicated. Although it is sad to recall, the mayor said he chooses to remember Palmer with “great joy, and the positive impact he had on me.”
“He would have loved to be here today,” Bochenski said. “I have no doubt he’s looking down and smiling on all of us today.”
Eric Hylden/Obituary
During the program, retired U.S. Air Force Col. Tom Saddler also commemorated Palmer, recalling that not long after the brigadier general began attending the VMP Committee meetings in 2017, he was elected chairman.
His “outstanding leadership” capabilities were soon apparent, as he began defining goals, forming committees and assigning tasks, Saddler said.
Looking for park features with a local connection, Palmer settled on the B-52, Saddler said. B-52s were assigned to the 319th Bomb Wing at GFAFB from April 29, 1962, to Dec. 4, 1986.
Palmer worked with Atlantic Models, a Medley, Florida-based firm, on specifics for the replica, which cost $35,000.
When the bomber arrived here, with wings detached, it was stored in a garage on site until it was “hand-carried” to the display site and installed Nov. 11, 2022, during less-than-ideal weather conditions – windy and chilly, Saddler said. “It was brutal out here.”
Saddler also told the crowd Tuesday that Dr. Mike Brown, former Grand Forks mayor, was stationed at GFAFB, working at the hospital when the accident occurred.
“Dr. Brown recalled that hospital staff was ordered to set up for triage,” he said, “but the order was canceled when they learned there were no survivors.”
Saddler also praised the efforts of Vanyo and the Prairie Grass members, who, among other work at the park, help people find the memorial stones denoting their loved ones’ military service. The rectangular bricks, engraved with the name, military branch and dates of service of each veteran, line the park’s sidewalks.
When Vanyo learned that one of the veterans was hospitalized in a critical care unit, she photographed the stone and sent the picture to the family, who showed it to the veteran, Saddler said.
“And a smile came to his face,” said the colonel, clearly emotional at the thought. “He was able to see it before he passed away shortly thereafter.”
The widow of General Palmer, Peggy Palmer, was also a special guest at the dedication event Tuesday.
After the ceremony, when asked what her husband would have thought of the memorial, she said, “He’d love it. He spent many an hour on the phone, trying to figure out how (the replica) would be transported from Florida to North Dakota. Would it fit on a trailer?
“There were frustrations and call-backs – this didn’t work and that didn’t work,” she said. “He had lots of patience. When you’re working with so many people, you have to be patient.”
Her husband served 38 years in the military, including his service in the U.S. Air Force and the North Dakota Air National Guard, she said. He had retired from active duty before the January 1983 accident occurred. He also worked many years at the UND School of Aerospace Sciences.
In preparation for this ceremony, Vanyo attempted to reach out to the families of all five of the victims of the January 1983 accident; she was able to connect with the siblings of two of them. Some family members and friends sent letters, which Vanyo read during the ceremony; several were “amazed” at the work of the Prairie Grass chapter to honor their loved ones, she said.
A friend wrote that Gray, one of five siblings, was “such a kind and joyful person,” Vanyo said.
A sibling of McDonald wrote that “he was the oldest brother” and expressed that the family is “so thankful” to the Prairie Grass chapter for its efforts to make sure these service members “will not be forgotten,” Vanyo said.
“I said, no, they’ll never be forgotten.”
Some relatives are making plans to travel to Grand Forks to view the memorial, she said.
During the ceremony, Vanyo read from a letter from a sibling who said the memorial will serve as “an example of the spirit of the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice.”