Posted: 6/26/02

FL man puts facts to plane in lake story

Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Warren Parsons heard the stories from the day he moved to Forest Lake in 1968. There were stories and tales of the airplane in the lake and the pilotís body which had never been recovered.

Three decades later ó after years of hearing the stories ó Parsons has put fact and fiction to rest with a two-year study of what happened over Forest Lake on Sunday, June 27, 1954.

For years, Parsons, now 49, knew one thing. A U.S. Air Force Reserve pilot on a training mission had been killed when his P-51 Mustang had crashed in Third Lake. Nearly 50 years later Parsons has pieced together many of the pieces of the story, but like military officials who investigated the accident, can not explain what caused the crash of Major Louis M. Waltonís plane.

The calm waters of the northeast shore of Third Lake today provide no trace of the events that took place near Shadyland Point 48 years ago today.

Facts from 1954

Major Walton was 31 on that fateful day in 1954, just three days shy of his 32nd birthday. He was a World War II veteran who flew B-17 bombing missions over Germany from bases in England.

He had joined the Air Force Reserves while living in Minnesota. The Walton family, which included three children ranging in age from 8 to 4, lived in St. Anthony Park. He had married his high school sweetheart from White Bear Lake prior to the start of World War II.

It was a routine training weekend mission for Waltonís squadron which left Wold Chamberlain Airport at 1 p.m. that Sunday afternoon. In less than two hours, Waltonís plane would vanish in the murky waters of Third Lake on the Forest Lake chain.

Accident information documents found by Parsons give a glimpse to Waltonís final hours of life.

But the differing accounts in 1954, coupled with the change of time and recollection of individuals, have likely contributed to the mystery that would follow the crash.

By 1968 when Parsons moved here as a 15-year-old, the stories captured his attention.

The testimony of Waltonís wingmate on June 27, 1954 provides one account. According to 1st Lt. Albert J. Greffenius the two P-51 Mustangs were flying high altitude ìin-trailî maneuvers when something happened to Waltonís plane.

Lt. Greffenius said in accident reports Waltonís plane suddenly went into a steep dive and hit the lake water at a high rate of speed with a ìfaint cloud of smokeî the only sign from the air. After going into the dive, Greffenius said he believed Waltonís plane was ìout of controlî and ìflounderingî as it made its rapid descent.î

By 3 p.m. that Sunday afternoon, the lake was again calm with only an oil and gasoline slick a key to the crash. Officials later recovered parts of the aircraft and Waltonís remains.

Local witnesses

Some witnesses to the crash still live in Forest Lake.

Jim Crawford, a retired commander of the Minnesota State Patrol, was an off duty state trooper living in Forest Lake the day the P-51 plane crashed. He recalls going to the scene by car and to offer assistance after seeing the plane in trouble. He later went to the scene by boat.

He had often watched the planes from Wold Chamberlain go through ìdogfightingî exercises and recalled on this day the planes had not stayed west of the lake as had been the pattern. ìThey usually did their training west of the lake,î Crawford recalled.

ìIt was pretty mucky water,í Crawford said of the crash site. The water was too difficult for scuba divers and officials later turned to deep sea diving gear to help in the recovery effort.

Sharon (Pearson) Autey was 12 in 1954 and recalls the day vividly. She was changing into her swim suit in a corrugated metal boat house not far from Willow Point when the P-51 roared overhead with a deafening noise, she said.

ìI remember it almost like yesterday,î she said. ìIt was a terrifying sight.î

She remembers running from the boat house and seeing the P-51 streaking by. The P-51 was low enough that she could see the pilotís helmet, she said.

As she recalls the final moments, Autey said she feared the plane would go down near the homes in Rogers Shadyland Point.

She still believes Walton was able to alter the planeís direction in its final moments. ìWe thought of him as a hero,î she said.

Sharon and her sister, Darlene, who was 13, took the Pearson family boat and joined other boats at the crash site. All that remained was the oil slick, she said.

There were conflicting civilian reports in 1954. Some recounted the plane in the steep dive while other recalled seeing it speed by closer to the ground.

Parsons comes in

Two years ago, after years of hearing the stories and wondering, Parsons began his study. ìThere are so many stories,î he said.

A news account from the Forest Lake Times was the clue that set him off in the right direction, he said.

ìEverybody had different versions of what happened,î Parsons said, looking back at the mystery surrounding the crash.

When he first began his research, he said the P-51 was his motivation. But after learning more about Walton, Parsons said he gained great respect and appreciation for the man.

ìI really had no intention of looking back on Walton,î Parsons said. ìThe airplane was my real interest.î

Parsons said Waltonís flying background was exceptional. The decision to enter the Reserves during the Korean War also spoke volumes for Walton, Parsons said.

ìHe (Walton) had made it through World War II,î Parsons said. ìThen he relisted in the Reserves at the time Korea started. He didnít have to, but he knew war. He knew what he was doing.î

Parsons canít say for sure what caused Waltonís plane to go down, but he has two theories. He believes Waltonís plane had some catastrophic failure or Walton blacked out when making a high-altitude maneuver.

In researching the crash, Walton hopes he can put to rest the stories and occasional interest by divers to search the site for relics. Parsons, who charts and maps lakes for fishing purposes, has located the site and believes there is little to find.

The plane slammed into water 20-feet deep and carved a crater 20-feet deep. In the near half century that has followed, what is left is buried deep in muck and silt.

Parsons hopes others will put the crash site to rest and not look at the site as some kind of treasure trove.

ìAs far as I am concerned itís a grave site,î he said. ìIt should be treated as such.î

Parsons canít say for sure if Walton died in a noble way to save someone on shore, but he is sure Walton gave his life serving his country.

ìThis guy died in the line of duty and I donít believe that we give them (reservists) enough credit.î

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