Skousen, Murr

       
                Murr Skousen is the man in the middle of the group crouching down. You know, the one that looks like a total boss? He's staring down the camera because he wants everyone to know he's the toughest guy there.

                  Born during WWI in Mesa, Arizona Murr Eldred Skousen was an excellent athlete. He played high school football and eventually wound up on the BYU football team as a halfback. Due to his height of 5'7" and his tenacious nature, he gained the nickname, the "Mighty Mite."

              He left BYU and joined the Army Air Corps when WWII broke out, becoming the captain of a B-29 Bomber. He flew several successful bombing missions over Japan, and proved to be smart, resourceful, and courageous. An example of this is shown in the following story.

              During training in Pratt, Kansas, Murr had a scare. He was returning to base in a B-17 one night and found that his wheels wouldn't come down. Unable to land properly and running out of fuel, he circled the field to try again. Unsuccessful in his efforts to lower the wheels, Murr ordered his crew to bail out. When they asked why, he told them that he was going to try and take it in on its belly. The crew refused to leave him alone and trusted him so much that they all stayed in the plane with him. Murr made an outstanding emergency crash landing on the runway. In a letter to his parents he wrote:
 "Had a little trouble the other night and here is a picture to let you see how it was turned out. No one was hurt or scratched....Was complimented on the landing & everybody was pleased with it."  

Crash-Landed B-17 flown by Murr Skousen

                    Murr was a talented pilot, but the sky is harsh and unforgiving. Aviation has come a long way since the Wright Flyer, and is relatively safe and predictable, but in WWII it was more dangerous than ever. Thousands of brave young men and women perished in training accidents and missions due to reasons such as faulty equipment, lack of experience and training, and lack of standards and regulations.

                    When stationed in China, on July 29, 1944 Murr left on a routine training mission. One of his 4 engines failed, and he radioed that he was returning to base. He skillfully flew the plane back to the base(having one of 4 engines out drastically changes the flight characteristics and balance) and was about to attempt a landing, when he saw a plane already on the runway. Wanting to keep that plane out of danger, Murr decided to go around the pattern and try again. Tragically, his 3 working engines didn't have sufficient power to climb over a nearby hill. He crashed into the side of it and was killed.



Murr was a hero, and I'm proud to have run a mile for him. I know I can't repay his sacrifice at all by running, but I'll do what I can. I hope that this everyone reading this can take a few seconds to thank him, and all of the other men on this page.


-Brett
****Special Thanks to Alex Greaves. Murr is her great Uncle and she was invaluable in my research process