H.B. will look into memorial for 1943 plane crash victims
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The Huntington Beach City Council unanimously voted during a meeting Monday to create a committee to look into developing a memorial for several children who died when a military plane crashed on shore in 1943.
Council members Barbara Delgleize, Dave Sullivan and Billy O’Connell will head the ad-hoc committee and work with city staff to memorialize an event that occurred on June 27, 1943, when a Lockheed P-39 Lightning military plane crashed on the beach near the Huntington Beach Pier.
Delgleize said the war plane was practicing maneuvers offshore when it began to malfunction. The pilot turned the plane toward the ocean and ejected from the aircraft. However, the plane turned back toward the shore and crashed near the pier, wounding about 40 beachgoers and killing four children.
The four children belonged to the Borregos and Silvas families, which had seven children in total.
The idea for a memorial was brought up during the Oct. 5 City Council meeting when local writer and historian Chris Epting told the dais about the event and suggested that a memorial be raised.
The memorial would be a tribute to the children who died and for the first-responders who helped that day.
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