Vernon ‘Crooked Wheel’ Christensen
PLENTYWOOD — Vernon "Crooked Wheel" Christensen, 88, died peacefully at Sheridan Memorial Hospital, May 4, 2012, with his children by his side, after a courageous battle with cancer. Vernon was born in a three-room log cabin on June 14, 1923, to Folmer and Esther (Jorgensen) Christensen. Five more children were born to them before a second bedroom was added on. Vernon attended the Franklin School, where he and his siblings walked a mile-and-a-half to school, each way uphill with the wind always blowing in their faces. After completing the eighth grade, he attended Medicine Lake High School where he was given an early diploma in 1942 so he could join the Army Air Corps. He wanted to see the world and did not want to miss the war. Little did he know at that time just how much of the world and war he would see. After completing training in various places, Vernon became a top turret gunner on the B-24 Liberator. The crew named their bomber "Hell's Angel." Vernon was assigned to Captain William Lawrence's crew which was to be part of the newly formed 485th Bomb Group. Vernon would start to use up some of his nine lives. On the trip over to Venosa, Italy, where the 485th was to be stationed, one airman from each crew was transported by ship, the USS Hamilton. Vernon volunteered but was denied because he was a mechanic, he was needed to be on the plane. Outside Algiers, a German dive bomber scored a direct hit and sunk the ship in 2.5 minutes with all 600 personnel sunk to a watery grave. Vernon would complete 49 horrifying bombing missions with one to go before being allowed to go home.
Vernon witnessed many horrifying scenes which haunted him all his life. He witnessed other airmen falling from exploding planes without parachutes or some airmen opening their chutes too early and catching on fire. He often prayed it wouldn't happen to him. After completing certain missions his own bomber returned full of holes. He had also received two purple hearts for shrapnel received from missions over the Ploesti oilfield raids. The 50th mission was supposed to be a milk run where four groups were to bomb the marshaling yards in Oswiecim, Poland (Auschwitz). Only one plane failed to return from the mission from the 485th, Vernon's.
He was shot down Sept. 13, 1944, on his final mission. He was one of only five men to escape a fiery death. Six men did not get out of the plane. Vernon was captured and spent six months at Stalag IV. The Russians were closing in and Hitler wanted the POWs moved to Germany. Known today as the infamous Black March, many hundreds of airmen died from starvation, disease and mistreatment. Vernon buddied-up with a man from Sundance, Wyo., Norman Bunney. Those two friends kept each other alive for the nearly 600 miles from northern Poland through much of Germany. This was one of the coldest winters ever recorded along the Baltic Sea. These men were tough. After being liberated in Bitterfeld, Germany, the war didn't end for Vernon. He spent the next three months in hospitals recovering from malnutrition and other related illnesses. In the early 1980s at the insistence of his niece and nephew, Jim and Gail Eamon, Vernon began to record his war experiences in his own words on tape where Jim and Gail put them into book form. This book is available at the library.
After the war, Vernon returned home to Dagmar and along with his uncle Otto Jorgensen, built a brake and alignment shop. He ran the shop for 39 years. Vernon married Mabel Welter on March 21, 1947, and raised four boys in Plentywood.
Among many civic duties, he was the mayor of Plentywood from 1963 to 1964 and served six years on the city council, a member of Plentywood Masonic Lodge, Plentywood Athletic Club, and VFW. Vernon and his family have been lifetime members of the Congregational Church.
Vernon had a great love for the land and spent many hours hunting geese with his best friend Zoonie Mclean and their sons, Curt and Zoonie, on the farm where he grew up. His passion turned to fishing as he got older and spent many seasons fishing with his buddies Harvey French, Gordon Tange, Gene Mehl, and Randy Lasar. Another love was his beloved Chicago Cubs, after many years of following them you could always gage his mood by how the Cubs played. More often heartbreak than joy, Vernon was not only a top-of-the-line mechanic, but also a tremendous woodworker. He built a wooden boat in the ‘50s and spent countless summer Sundays pulling water skiers with an old
25-hp motor. He and his brother Jorgen built a saw mill at the farm and together made beautiful horse-drawn carriages.
His greatest asset was as a grandfather. Mari remembers many times at Blacktail Dam when the grandkids would pile into Grandpa's boat and they would go out and slay perch by the bucket loads, eight or none kids in the boat. Vernon would say, "Mari, remember these days, this is a lot of work for us (cleaning kids' fish) but these are the best days of your life."
Vernon loved to go to his 485th bomber group reunions and met with his buddies nearly every year since the ‘70s. He said last year was his best and happiest because he was able to take his granddaughters, Marisa and Carrie. They went to Sea World and Vernon enjoyed their company so much he said the reunion was his last because it couldn't be topped and was the best money he'd ever spent.
The finishing touch to his military career occurred when he returned to Poland in 1994 at the request of the Polish village, where his B-24 was shot down, to honor him and the crew members who liberated them from Nazi oppression. He was accompanied by members of the Department of the Air Force, his son Russell, and Jim and Gail Eamon.
Vernon is survived by his wife Mabel of 65 years, his son Curtis (Jill) Christensen of Sidney, Mont.; Russell (Mari) Christensen of Plentywood, Mont.; Tom (Rhonda) Christensen of Everett, Wash.; and Craig Christensen of Plentywood; nine grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren; and his faithful dog "Bo" who never left his side. He is also survived by his sisters, Sigrid Petersen, Plentywood; Lois Hajenga, Etta Tuss, both of Lewistown, Mont.; Kai (Jackie) of Polson, Mont.; and sister-in-law Gerda Christensen of Plentywood.
He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Jorgen Christensen, infant sister Ruth, all of Dagmar, and a grandson Levi Christensen of Everett, Wash.
Cremated remains will be scattered at the family farmstead, and at the memorial dedicated to his friends who died in the crash near Zygodowice, Poland. His funeral will take place Thursday, May 10, at 2 p.m., at Congregational Church in Plentywood. Pastor Dave Curtright will officiate.
The family asks in lieu of flowers, donations should be made to your local Angel Tree Project or Hospice.
Fulkerson Funeral Home of Plentywood is in charge of arrangements.
