Wolf Hill Plane Crash Memorial

Sixty-six years after three servicemen lost their lives in a military plane crash on Wolf Hill, in Smithfield, Rhode Island, two memorials were dedicated in the Town of Smithfield honoring their sacrifice. On August 5, 1943, Lieutenant Saul Winsten, of Pawtucket, RI, Lieutenant Otis R. Portewig, of Richmond VA, and Sgt Herbert D. Booth, of Rahway, New Jersey, perished in the line of duty while on a routine flight from Westover Field to Otis Field in Massachusetts. The flight path brought them over Rhode Island where their aircraft lost an engine and crashed. (For more detailed information, see The Wolf Hill Plane Crash on the Town of Smithfield website, www.smithfieldri.com) The project was years in the making and would not have been possible without the combined efforts and generosity of many people. In 2006, a parcel of undeveloped land containing the crash site was purchased by the Smithfield Land Trust thus making the site accessible to the public. Shortly afterwards, a volunteer committee was formed consisting of military veterans belonging to the Balfour-Cole American Legion Post #64 in Spragueville, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2929 in Georgiaville, and several private citizens. It was decided to erect two memorials; one in Deerfield Park that would contain the latitude and longitude of the crash site, and a second at the crash site on Wolf Hill. The Deerfield Park monument would serve as a reminder of the sacrifice made by the three servicemen, and the second would mark the site so it would not be forgotten. The decision was made to concentrate on the Deerfield Park project first.