Few Cullman residents may know that World War II bombers flew training flights over the county during the 1940s. Fewer still may be aware that one such bomber crashed over the Cullman-Morgan County line in an accident 70 years ago this past April, which will be recognized with a historical marker near the site on Saturday, August 16th.

On Easter Sunday, April 9, 1944, a U.S. Army Air Corps B-26 bomber, nick-named the “Katy-Did,” crashed in a violent thunderstorm on the Cullman-Morgan county line, a half-mile east of Highway 157 near Battleground. All eight of the plane’s passengers, who were on route from Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia to Memphis, Tennessee, perished in the accident.

In remembrance of the long-forgotten event, on Saturday, August 16, at 1 p.m., Colonel Ken Brown of the Cullman VFW Post will conduct a memorial and marker dedication ceremony to honor the airmen at the site. The site is located at the foot of Battleground Mountain in Morgan County, just off Highway 157. Alabama State Representative Ed Henry of Hartselle will be present at the ceremony.

 Herman Stringer, a Vinemont resident until moving to Hartselle last year, was the one who spearheaded the research that led to the historical marker.

“I’ve got pictures of the bomber and everything,” Stringer said. “I got the guys’ names from scratch.”

“I’ve known [Stringer]…for years,” Rep. Henry said. “He contacted me and brought me a bunch of pictures and artifacts he had gotten from the site out there.”

“I know the property well, had grown up here all my life and never heard about this bomber crash,” Henry said.

Henry said during his first year in office three years ago, he and Stringer “just started talking about it, how to get a marker placed.”

“I didn’t really know what the process was to get a marker placed,” he said, adding that he and Stringer began learning about the process when they started working with the Hartselle historical society.

After putting together a package for the Alabama Tourism Department, Henry said things started coming into place for the ceremony.

Stringer said that until the ceremony next week, eight white crosses and several American flags will mark the spot as temporary markers.

All interested citizens, as well as area veterans, are welcome to attend the August 16 memorial ceremony.