In 1921, President Harding ordered Army bombers, led by War hero Billy Mitchell to southern West Virginia where the infamous “Mine Wars” were raging. On September 3, three bomb planes departed Charleston heading for Langley Field, Virginia. Encountering a thunderstorm, one plane, Martin bomber No. 5, carrying five fliers, crashed near Poe, Nicholas County. A second plane returned to Charleston. The third bomb plane continued on and landed near Seebert where Hillsboro photographer J. H. Clark took this picture. The plane resumed flight to Langley Field the following day. The downed plane was found on September 5. Four crew members were dead. The fifth was badly injured and did not survive. (Courtesy of Pocahontas County Historical Society, ID: PHS000015)

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