Piatt Plane Crash Memorial - Wichita, Kansas
The Piatt memorial commemorates the tragedy which occurred January 16, 1965, when a KC-135 Tanker plane crashed into the Piatt neighborhood,
killing the air crew and many innocent civilians. The project began in May 2007 and the dedication ceremony was held on July 14, 2007.
Funding for the memorial came in large part from a federal Community Development Block Grant.
Forty-two years after a fuel-filled US Air Force KC-135 Tanker jet crashed into the 20th and Piatt neighborhood of Wichita, an airplane-shaped
memorial was dedicated. The victims' names are inscribed on the wing-shaped tablets that are a part of this 12 ft. high x 22 ft. wide, Imperial
Black Granite monument designed and built by SI Memorials of Parsons, Kansas. Many attending the dedication of the Piatt Plane Crash Memorial
were the crash victims' families and friends who still live in the area.
Over 200 people attended the Piatt Plane Crash Memorial dedicated in Wichita, Kansas, honoring the 30 people killed in the worst non-natural disaster in Kansas
history. Key individuals involved in the building of the monument include: (L-R) Jim Epperson, Wichita area representative of SI Memorials, who passed away
not long after the memorial's dedication; Dr. Carla Lee, memorial coordinator; State Representative Oletha Faust-Goudeau, monument committee chairman; and
Mike Forbes, Regional Manager for SI Memorials.
As part of the Piatt Plane Crash Memorial project, SI Memorials refurbished a monument honoring Lynette Woodard, a female basketball star at the
University of Kansas who went on to star with the Harlem Globetrotters. SI repaired the original plaque, added a new ceramic color photo and
mounted them on to the Imperial Black Granite that duplicates the design of the original concrete monument that stood in Piatt Park.
Woodard, pictured with her monument, grew up in this Wichita neighborhood.
Read News Releases
July 14, 2007 | Piatt Plane Crash Memorial Built by SI Memorials is Dedicated
June 28, 2007 | SI Memorials Begins Erecting Piatt Plane Crash Memorial
