Published: November 04, 2008 11:31 pm         

Snowy night brought tragedy in its wake

It was just after midnight on a cold and snowy night in January 1942 when seven soldiers stationed at the Enid Basic Flying Field were killed when their bus was hit by a Rock Island Railroad locomotive at the rail crossing just west of U.S. 81 on the east edge of the base.

There were a total of 31 soldiers on the bus. Oklahoma Highway Patrol Troopers said visibility at the time of the accident was very poor due to wind driven snow. When the driver of the bus tried to stop for the crossing, the bus slid on the snowy roadway. When he saw the lights of the approaching locomotive he tried to get across the tracks but was unable to clear the rear of the bus.

(They referred to the men as “soldiers” because in 1942 they were in the Army Air Corps. It was not until 1947, when the Air Force became a separate branch of the military, they were called airmen. The base also was known as the Enid Army Air Field, and later renamed Vance Air Force Base.)

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Sixty-six years ago Enid’s nine new car dealers were in a crisis, but it was a different kind of a crisis. They didn’t have too many cars, instead they had no new cars to sell and would not have any for several years. The U.S, government had ordered all auto plants to cease making cars and trucks and convert to making munitions. We were at war. Good used cars were at a premium, and were bringing top prices.

Gasoline was rationed, too, and so were automobile and truck tires. To buy a new tire it was necessary to submit an application to a special ration board.

Garfield County’s quota for the year was 68 tires and 57 tubes for passenger cars, and 147 tires and 123 tubes for trucks, light trucks and buses.

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All German, Italian and Japanese nationals residing in Garfield County in 1942 were required to file an application for a Certificate of Identification at the post office. The requirement applied to all enemy nationals 14 years of age or older who had not taken the oath of allegiance before a federal judge — the final step in becoming a U.S. citizen.

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Also, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the Secretary of War to move out of vital defense areas any person believed inimical to the U.S. war effort — citizens and aliens alike. Attorney General Biddle said in early 1942 the FBI had apprehended almost 4,000 alien enemies since the outbreak of WWII. Approximately one-third of these were Japanese from California, Oregon and Washington.

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It was in the winter of 1942 — just a month or so after the attack on Pearl Harbor — the Oklahoma Secretary of State issued a charter for an airplane manufacturing plant in downtown Enid.

The charter was issued to Stearman Aviation Inc. The company was headed by Glenn Stearman and Tom G. Dillingham, Enid insurance man. They manufactured airplane and other parts for the military during the duration of World War II. The location of the plant was listed as 509 S. Grand.

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HALLELUJAH!! Did you read in the paper the other day the city of Enid government is going to make the revitalization of downtown Enid one of its top priorities? They are even shuffling department heads around and putting Chris Bauer in charge of the effort. Their first project will be the venerable Convention Hall. Bauer is an architect, which makes him an ideal person to help fashion new uses for the large building.

I hope this is just the first step in a long journey that will turn our historic downtown area into something new and exciting. Private enterprise already has done a lot to preserve some of the downtown structures — e.g. Continental Resources, Advance Food and a number of smaller property owners.

But, folks, we can’t be shy about this. It’s going to take imagination, money, and skill, as well as a lot of sweat, and, yes, even a dash of daring-do, to make it a commercial center again — a place that everyone talks about and a place where they love to come and spend their money.



Brown is a former managing editor of the Enid Morning News.