Lt Col Sam Cutler Flag Raising - 14 June 2000
The Bakers Creek
memorial after dawn with U.S. and Australian Colours at
half-mast.
Wreaths laid during the annual ceremony on 4th June 2000 ...
from Foye Roberts (sole survivor),
Teddy Hanks & 40th Fighter Sqn,
Mackay RSL, Tim Mulherin MLA State Member for Mackay, No. 5
Flight AIRTC,
Del Sparrowe, Connie Constantine
& 46TCS, USAF & U.S. 5th Air Force.
Lest We Forget
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| Sam Cutler's U.S. flag raised | Australian flag raised | The Last Post | Colours lowered to half-mast | Mackay's AIRTC Cadets |
FLAG RAISING CEREMONY AT THE BAKERS CREEK MEMORIAL ON 14 JUNE 2000
Before dawn, under an overcast sky and occasional glimpses of impending daylight through a break in the clouds, a flight of air cadets of No. 5 Flight North Queensland Squadron, Air Training Corps, gathered at the Bakers Creek Memorial, just before 6 a.m. on June 14, 2000 for a brief, but solemn ceremony. The weather was not reminiscent of the foggy morning 57 years ago, but the dark sky gave rise to a sombre mood amongst those about to take part in a special ceremony.
In the shrinking darkness, a few minutes before 6 a.m., the ceremony commenced as a contingent of cadets marched to a position a few metres to the north of, and facing, the Bakers Creek Memorial. Two flag orderlies with national flags of the U.S.A. and Australia draped over their shoulders slow-marched to take up positions beside the Memorial where they attached the flags and stood at attention. The Guard Commander then mounted the four members of the Guard at the corners of the Memorial.
At 6.02 a.m., the "Stars and Stripes" was slowly hoisted aloft to strains of "The Star Spangled Banner" followed by "Advance Australia Fair" as the Australian flag was hoisted. As a bugler blew "The Last Post", both flags were lowered to half-mast. The bugle's melancholy noted stirred the chilled morning air before a minute's silence to reflect upon lives lost, families shattered and the Mackay District stunned when 57 years ago, a U.S. Army Air Corps B-17C Flying Fortress aeroplane (tail number 40-2072) came crashing to earth and exploded at Bakers Creek about a mile northwards of the Memorial.
Mercifully, the life of Corporal Foye Kenneth Roberts was spared. Still living, in poor health, in Wichita Falls, Texas, Foye and his Australian-born wife, Vera, have since lived with the effects of the crash each day. Memories of the crash linger in the minds of many local residents.
The tragedy haunted the Officer of the Day on June 14, 1943, who supervised the loading of #40-2072, "closed its doors", and sent it on its way. A few minutes later, forty men perished and another was maimed for life.
The "U.S. Colors" hoisted aloft at the Bakers Creek Memorial on June 14, 2000 (now, Flag Day in the U.S.A.) were those that adorned the funeral coffin of that officer, USAF Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Samuel Cutler, when he was laid to rest on 8th August 1990.
In 1943, Captain Sam Cutler of the U.S. 5th Air Force set up the American Red Cross and recreational facilities in Mackay that were enjoyed by the U.S. servicemen who perished and thousands of others on furlough from New Guinea. With this act of remembrance, after enduring 47 years of torment following the crash, may Sam Cutler finally Rest in Peace.
CONTACT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Australia: Mr. Col (Colin) Benson c/- P.O. Box 238, Mackay, Queensland 4740. Fx: 61 (07) 4957 6829. Email: <valiant@easynet.net.au>
USA: Prof. Robert S. Cutler, The George Washington University, Washington, DC. Tel/Fax: (301) 762-4696. Email: <bobcutler65@hotmail.com>