OSWEGO, NY – The H. Lee White Maritime Museum recently joined Oswego County, the City of Oswego and the proposed Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council to host the “Getaway Gertie” commemoration on June 24. The event served as a public tribute to the lost crew of a B-24 Liberator bomber believed to have crashed into Lake Ontario during World War II training exercises. The four-engine bomber has never been found and was last heard flying low over the eastern shore of Great Lake Ontario during a snowstorm in February 1944.
“Getaway Gertie” was carrying a crew of eight: pilot Wendell Keith Ponder; flight officer Raymond A. Bickel; flight engineer Thomas C. Roberts; radio operator Joseph Michael Zebo; assistant engineer Aubrey H. Alexander; assistant radio operator Philip R. Walton; and James O. Cozier and Kenneth Jones, both gunners.
The “Getaway Gertie” commemoration featured an opening ceremony conducted by the New York State Air National Guard’s 174th Attack Wing Honor Guard, followed by numerous distinguished speakers, including Tom Wilber, author of “Vanishing Point: The Search for a B-24 Bomber Crew Lost on the World War II Home Front.”
Family members of pilot Wendell Keith Ponder traveled from Texas and Oklahoma to attend the ceremony, and the H. Lee White Maritime Museum provided them and Wilber with free lighthouse boat tours.
Maritime history continues to be recognized as lakeshore partners await an announcement about the possible designation of the proposed Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary. Wayne, Cayuga, Oswego and Jefferson counties and the city of Oswego joined together in 2017 to apply to have a 1,700-square mile area designated as a marine sanctuary, based on the cultural and historic significance of the waters.
The proposed sanctuary boundary on the eastern corridor of Lake Ontario is the site of 43 known shipwrecks and one known submerged aircraft. The proposal is currently under review by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
If the designation is successful, the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary will be the 16th marine sanctuary in the United States, providing opportunities for education, research, recreation and tourism. To learn more about the proposed Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary, go to https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/lake-ontario/.
missing or outdated ad config