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Remember...Kenneth Chester Amick
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Kenneth Chester Amick was born on September 24, 1923, at Comfort, Boone County, West Virginia. His parents were Dorsey Blair Amick and Lora Ferrell Amick. Three years later, the family welcomed Kenneth's younger sister, Wilma Jean Amick (married name: Hughes). The 1930 Federal Census lists another daughter, Gloria Sue, while the 1940 enumeration lists another daughter, Christa. Because of the age of this sister (b. ~1928), it appears that Gloria and Christa are the same person, and the error resides with the census taker. Also, Christa may have been a half-sister, although no records were found to confirm this supposition. (Family information from 1930, 1940, and 1950 Federal Census documents, as well as the Cotton Family Tree on Ancestry.com.)
| Kenneth came of age when World War II was looming. When he registered for the draft on June 30, 1942, he stated that his mother was the person who would always know his address—the family was living on Sixth Avenue in Charleston at the time—and Kenneth was working in the oil fields in Jackson County and Kanawha County. As the war escalated, it became time to enlist, and Kenneth Amick did so on March 24, 1943. At the time he stated he was single and had two years of high school. Later that year, though, he married Edith Elizabeth Sayre in Nashville, Tennessee. They had one son, Robert Blair Amick, born in 1944. However, that marriage did not last, and Kenneth's second marriage was to Louise Elaine Walker. Edith remarried to James L. Massie. | ![Sgt. Kenneth C. Amick, fourth from left [without hat], flight engineer/tail gunner, 44th Bombardment Group at Shipdham, England, 1945. <i>Charleston Gazette</i> photo, 25 July 2002, used with permission](amickkenneth02.jpg) |
According to the posting for Kenneth Chester Amick on Find A Grave (Memorial No. 118369364), Kenneth was actually in his senior year of high school at Stonewall Jackson when he realized that it was time for him to join the conflict. He became as a flight engineer/tail gunner on a B-24 Liberator in the 68th Squadron, 44th Bombardment Group, known as the "Flying Eight Balls." Those who served in this role were especially vulnerable, but Staff Sergeant Amick returned safely after the war, continued his occupation as a driller, and joined the West Virginia [Air] National Guard.
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Thus, it became S/Sgt. Amick's fate to be among the crew of the C-47 transport that crashed near the Charleston [Kanawha] Airport on April 8, 1951. The squadron, which was training at Godman Air Force Base in Kentucky, intended to attend the funeral of Major Woodford Sutherland, who had been killed in an airplane accident in Florida three days previous. |
Much has been written locally about the crash and its aftermath—the Charleston Gazette and Daily Mail offered timely coverage of the event and its aftermath, and other newspapers around the state followed suit. In a practice no longer familiar, newspapers often published an "extra," which allowed for frequent updates on breaking news. The following account, however, is excerpted from the actual accident report:
After reporting over the Charleston Radio Range at 5000 feet on an IFR flight from Godman Air Force Base, Kentucky to Charleston, West Virginia, the pilot was cleared by Charleston Approach Control to descent to 3500 feet, pending approach clearance. . . . [The pilot then indicated a turn procedure.] The procedure turn report was the last radio contact with the aircraft.The C-47 crashed into a hill approximately 1150 feet high located 4.6 miles from the approach end of runway 23 at Kanawha County Airport and 1.07 miles West Northwest of the Outer Marker beacon. Both wings of the aircraft were sheared off on impact by trees. The fuselage came to rest approximately 125 yards from the point of impact and was almost completely consumed by the fire which apparently was instantaneous with collision. . . .
One of the two survivors of the crash was a rated pilot riding as passenger who succumbed to burn injuries within less than 24 hours. The other survivor lived for approximately one week after the crash. The statements of the survivors indicate that they were positioned further aft in the plane than any of the other passengers and it is worthy of note that one of the survivors stated that to the best of his knowledge all the rest of the passengers who suffered fatal injuries had their safety belts fastened. . . .
[Here the report provides numerous technical details regarding the approach pattern and describes the condition of the aircraft on impact, concluding that the damage made the cause of the crash difficulty to determine.]
The report continues:
The fact that both survivors reported seeing the airport a short time before the crash lends credence to the belief that the pilot misread the altimeter and was actually flying at 1300 feet indicated when he reported being at 2300 outbound over the inner locator at 1132C. This altitude would put the aircraft below the 1000 foot overcast and above the 500 foot broken ceiling which would enable the passengers to get a glimpse of the airport through the broken cloud layer.The time lapse of only 2 minutes from the position over the inner located outbound until the procedure report further suggests the actions of this pilot in setting up his approach were distinctly hurried. One wrist watch found in the wreckage was stopped at 1136C, so the time of the accident is assumed as between 1135C and 1136.
While the failure of the ILS equipment might be considered as conducive to the accident, the pilot was aware of the malfunction and planned to make his approach independently of this system. It does not appear therefore that this failure should be considered as a direct cause factor. (Report of AF Aircraft Accident, West Virginia State Archives.)
| While most families held individual private services for their lost loved ones, the entire community rallied to their support when a joint service for all was held at the Charleston Municipal Auditorium on April 10. Local newspapers reported that more than 4,000 attended the joint memorial service, with standing room only for more than 500. S/Sgt. Kenneth Chester Amick was buried in Cunningham Memorial Park in St. Albans, West Virginia. In 2013, the West Virginia Legislature passed Concurrent Resolution No. 103, which named Bridge Number 20-79-1.95 on Interstate 79 in Kanawha County the "U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Kenneth Amick Memorial Bridge." |  |
Article prepared by Patricia Richards McClure, who gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Syd Edwards, historian who has extensively written about the C-47 crash
August 2024
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
