The Dixie Kiefer Plane Crash

Veterans Day for David Rocco now takes on added poignancy ever since he has come to learn more about the life, and death, of Captain Dixie Kiefer.

For on the late foggy morning of November 11, 1945, the aircraft that Kiefer and five other Navy personnel were in crashed head-on into the Fishkill Mountains near Glenham, killing all six aboard. The remote crash site took searchers 15 hours to find, and by then the news of the grim discovery was set in bold headlines around the nation. For Dixie Kiefer was one of the most decorated heroes in the Navy in World War II. As captain of the aircraft carrier Ticonderoga, Kiefer suffered numerous wounds in a kamikaze attack upon his ship. Despite his wounds Kiefer carried on in command, and thereby was dubbed "The Indestructible Man" by Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal. News of Kiefer's tragic death in peacetime shocked the nation all the more ...

Dave Rocco learned of the Kiefer crash site several years ago and hiked up the mountain to view the few rusting remains of the twin-engine airplane. Dave felt compelled to learn more of and bring honor to the six Navy men who died there. Years later, his efforts have led to a book he co-authored with Don Keith, "The Indestructible Man: The True Story of World War II Hero 'Captain Dixie'." Dave was the guest speaker at the Beacon Historical Society's meeting on October 24, and gave a memorable presentation of why Beacon should take a special interest on November 11th Veterans Days: the day 72 years ago Dixie Kiefer perished in our mountains. An unexpected highlight of the meeting was when BHS member Gerry Bell brought in part of the propeller of the Kiefer plane, a souvenir piece of the wreckage brought down the mountain by a relative 72 years ago.