Rufus B. Davidson
Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army
ROCKVILLE, Indiana - September 7, 1941 - A two-place Army plane plunged into a woods early today near Vialia, southeast of here, and killed Lieutenant Colonel Rufus B. Davidson, 48, and Major Fred Murcheson, 43, both of Scott Field, Illinois.
The crash occurred at the height of a violet thunderstorm, just at daybreak. A farmer named Ragsdale, living near the woods, said there was "a red glow" in the plane before it smashed through the trees. The farmer said the plane circled his house twice before the plunge.
Part of the widely scattered wreckage caught fire. Lieutenant Colonel Davidson's body was burned.
The victins, both experienced flyers, left Scott Field at 6:45 P.M. yesterday on a routine flight toPatterson Field, Ohio.
Investigators from Schoen Field, Indianapolis,
today opened an inquiry.
Posted: 2 September 2007