1948 Bomber Crash Claims the Lives of Three Ga. Guardsmen

 By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

A Georgia Air National Guard A-26 at the 54th Fighter Wing Headquarters in Marietta in 1946. Georgia National Guard Archives.

On Wednesday, Sept. 29, 1948 a Georgia Air National Guard A-26 crashed en route from Marietta Army Base to New York City.[1] Eyewitness statements made to the Virginia State Patrol indicated the aircraft exploded in flight and crashed near Simplicity, Va. Three Georgia Air National Guard personnel were killed in the accident. All three were veterans of World War II.[2] Army search personnel from Fort Pickett located the wreckage of the aircraft which had gouged a 30-foot trench after striking the ground.[3]

Captain Jerome Arnold Klausman, commander of the Marietta-based Detachment A, 216^th Air Service Group was at the controls of the aircraft when it went down. Klausman was born June 23, 1918 in Macon to Marcus and Mamie Klausman. Marcus Klausman was a physician who immigrated from Russia. Klausman entered federal service with the Georgia National Guard’s 128^th Observation Squadron in 1941 and transferred to the Air Corps in 1942. Assigned to the European Theater he was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He joined the Georgia Air National Guard in 1946 and in his civilian capacity worked as a jeweler. Klausman is buried in Westlawn Memorial Park in Atlanta.[4]

Doctor Marcus Klausman presents the first annual Klausman Trophy
to Maj. William Kelly at Governor’s Day during Annual Training
 in 1950. Georgia National Guard Archives.

To honor the memory of Capt, Klausman the 216^th ASG established the Klausman Trophy. [5] The first Klausman Trophy was presented by Dr. Marcus Klausman to Maj. William Kelly, commander of Detachment C, 216^th ASG in the summer of 1950.[6]

First Lieutenant William Frederick Scarborough, 24, enlisted in the Air Corps in 1943 and served with the 3035 AAF Base Unit. Upon mustering out in 1946 Scarborough joined the Georgia Air National Guard. His brother, Homer Scarborough, served with the 121^st Infantry Regiment during World War II.[7] William is buried in Northview Cemetery in Dublin.

Second Lieutenant William Oscar Colley was a 25-year-old pilot from Elberton who ran his own flight business. A graduate of North Georgia College, he served in World War II as a flight officer and entered service with the Ga. ANG upon discharge from active duty. He is buried in Elmhurst Cemetery in Elberton.

---

[1] “Air Crash Kills 3 Georgia Guardsmen.” The Atlanta Constitution, Sept. 30, 1948, 1.

[2] “Guard identifies Atlanta Captain in Air Crash.” The Atlanta Constitution, Oct 1, 1948, 1.

[3] “Three Guard Officers Die in Plane Crash.” The Tampa Tribune, Oct. 1, 1948, 1.

[4] “Capt. Klausman Rites Tomorrow; Crash Victim.” The Atlanta Constitution, Oct. 5, 1948, 13.

[5] “Unit News.” The Georgia Guardsman Magazine. July-Aug 1950, 1.

[6] “Awards and Decorations Honor Guardsmen at Camp.” The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, Sept-Oct 1950, 10.

[7] GA-13-MD-GA 1941, 79.

Nescit Cedere: “He Knows No Surrender”

 By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Ga. Army National Guard

 

The unit crests of the 118th and 230th FA flank images of Battery A, Georgia Artillery in 1916 and Battery A 1-118th FA in 2014. Georgia National Guard Archives

The earliest elements of the Georgia Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment were organized April 18, 1751 in Savannah, Ga.[1] The regiment fought during the American Revolution and the War of 1812 and began its Civil War service at Fort Pulaski in 1861.

Fort Pulaski. Photo by Maj. William Carraway

Elements of the 118th served in multiple units during the Civil War including the 1st Georgia Volunteer Regiment, Wheaton’s Battery, the 13th and 18th Battalion Georgia Infantry. The venerable Chatham Artillery detached from the regiment in September 1861 and served as an independent battery, ultimately surrendering in North Carolina in April 1865.

Pvt. John  Hancock, 1st Ga.
Vol. Inf. 1898.
Georgia National Guard Archives

In 1872, the 118th Field Artillery was reorganized as the 1st Georgia Infantry Regiment. Elements of this unit entered federal service in May 1898 during the Spanish American War.

In July 1916, the 1st Georgia Infantry Regiment was dispatched to Camp Cotton in El Paso Texas following border tensions with Mexico. Returning in 1917, the unit began training for overseas service and on September 23, 1917, received its present designation as the 118th Field Artillery Regiment. The 118th served in France with the 31st Infantry Division and was demobilized in 1919. In 1941, the 118th Field Artillery was ordered into federal service as part of the 30th Infantry Division. The 118th Regiment would serve as the 118th and 230th Field Artillery Battalion with the 30th ID in the European theater where it would earn four Meritorious Unit Commendations and fight with distinction at Saint Lo, Malmedy and Mortain.

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the 1-118th FA has mobilized for overseas contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2020, Soldiers of the 1-118th participated in Operation Noble Partner in the country of Georgia and supported the state's response to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Soldiers of the Savannah-based Battery C, 1-118th FAR and the Glennville-based Company A, 177th Brigade Engineer Battalion, stand in formation
during the opening ceremony for Noble Partner 2020 at the Vaziani Training Area, country of Georgia Sept. 7, 2020. photo by Spc. Isaiah Matthews.

---

[1] Lineage and Honors of the 118th Field Artillery. Department of the Army