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Remember...Columbus Van Linden Hall
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Columbus Van Linden Hall was born at Spring Hill, Kanawha County, West Virginia, December 9, 1928, to John Shelvia ("Shelby" or "Shelly") Hall and Sylvia Myrl Eplin Hall. The 1930 Federal Census shows Columbus to be living in Jefferson, Kanawha County, with his parents and older sister, Mary Elizabeth (married name: Nida). By 1940, the family had added daughter Anna Marie and son Harold Gene. In 1950, Columbus was unmarried and still living with his parents on "Chestnut St. Road" in Jefferson; Harold was there, along with Anna, her husband Bud Rogers, and their daughter Rita. Columbus was listed as working in the "Vinetile Department" of a chemical factory, presumably Union Carbide. Although Columbus was too young to have been drafted for World War II, he did register for the draft as required on his 18th birthday in 1946. At that time, he stated that Shelly Hall was the person who would always know his address. As a young man, he had been working at the time at the Victory Theater. As of 1951, his marital status had changed; his death notice states that his wife, Mrs. Dorothy Lee Hall survives him.
| By April of that year, Corporal Hall had become a member of the 167th Fighter Squadron, which was training at Godman Air Force Base in Kentucky; the unit was readying to be deployed to Korea. But on April 8, fate would intervene. Cpl. Hall became one of the 21 victims of the C-47 Air Guard crash near the Kanawha [Charleston] Airport. |  |
Much has been written locally about the crash and its aftermath—the Charleston Gazette and Daily Mail offered timely coverage of the event and its aftermath, and other newspapers around the state followed suit. In a practice no longer familiar, newspapers often published an "extra," which allowed for frequent updates on breaking news. The following account, however, is excerpted from the actual accident report:
After reporting over the Charleston Radio Range at 5000 feet on an IFR flight from Godman Air Force Base, Kentucky to Charleston, West Virginia, the pilot was cleared by Charleston Approach Control to descent to 3500 feet, pending approach clearance. . . . [The pilot then indicated a turn procedure.] The procedure turn report was the last radio contact with the aircraft.The C-47 crashed into a hill approximately 1150 feet high located 4.6 miles from the approach end of runway 23 at Kanawha County Airport and 1.07 miles West Northwest of the Outer Marker beacon. Both wings of the aircraft were sheared off on impact by trees. The fuselage came to rest approximately 125 yards from the point of impact and was almost completely consumed by the fire which apparently was instantaneous with collision. . . .
One of the two survivors of the crash was a rated pilot riding as passenger who succumbed to burn injuries within less than 24 hours. The other survivor lived for approximately one week after the crash. The statements of the survivors indicate that they were positioned further aft in the plane than any of the other passengers and it is worthy of note that one of the survivors stated that to the best of his knowledge all the rest of the passengers who suffered fatal injuries had their safety belts fastened. . . .
[Here the report provides numerous technical details regarding the approach pattern and describes the condition of the aircraft on impact, concluding that the damage made the cause of the crash difficulty to determine.]
The report continues:
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The fact that both survivors reported seeing the airport a short time before the crash lends credence to the belief that the pilot misread the altimeter and was actually flying at 1300 feet indicated when he reported being at 2300 outbound over the inner locator at 1132C. This altitude would put the aircraft below the 1000 foot overcast and above the 500 foot broken ceiling which would enable the passengers to get a glimpse of the airport through the broken cloud layer. |
| While most families held individual private services for their lost loved ones, the entire community rallied to their support when a joint service for all was held at the Charleston Municipal Auditorium on April 10. Local newspapers reported that more than 4,000 attended the joint memorial service, with standing room only for more than 500. |  |
Article prepared by Patricia Richards McClure, who gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Syd Edwards, historian who has extensively written about the C-47 crash
June 2024
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
