GREENVILLE — This fall, after you've had your fill of schooner sails and lobster feasts around the Midcoast, take a day trip north by heading out early and driving to Greenville and the Moosehead Lake region. More specifically, chart a course for Elephant Mountain and pay homage to the nine-member crew of the B-52 Stratofortress-C who crashed into the side of the mountain during a training mission a little more than 50 years ago.

What you'll find there is a living, open air museum that survives through the respect and care-taking of many. Through snow, rain, and sunshine, as well as the darkest of nights, the wreckage remains, albeit some being overtaken by nature itself.

Access to the site is provided by Plum Creek, and upgrade and maintenance is done by Plum Creek, as well as the Moosehead Riders Snowmobile Club, Maine Civil Air Patrol and Moosehead ATV riders, among others.

It is a remarkably emotional memorial, so unnatural in this natural setting. And it evokes awe to imagine the the day it happened, and that so much of the scene remains exactly in place today. It is something that truly has to be experienced to appreciate and understand.

On Jan. 24, 1963, at 12:11 p.m., the unarmed $8 million B-52 aircraft took off from Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts. Described as a "routine training mission," they were to practice low level navigation techniques. On board were six crew and three observers, according to information at the site.

They were due to return to Westover five hours and 19 minutes later, at 5:30 p.m. They never made that return flight, doomed by a structural fault of the aircraft.

As the aircraft flew its mission at an altitude of just 500 feet and a speed of 280 knots, it was 14 degrees below zero Fahrenheit with winds gusting to 40 knots. Soon, they experienced turbulence. During the climb to fly above it, a loud noise was heard and the plane went into a 40-degree right turn. The nose was also pointing down and the pilot, Lt. Col. Dante E. Bulli, could not bring it back to level.

Responding to Bulli's orders, three of the nine were able to eject in time, including Bulli. The other six died when the B-52 hit the side of the mountain.

Bulli and Navigator Capt. Gerald J. Adler, were the only two survivors. The third crewman who ejected, copilot Maj. Robert J. Morrison, died when he hit a tree a mile away while parachuting to the ground.

Bulli and Adler spent the night on the mountain, broken and injured, with temperatures reaching 28 degrees below zero. They huddled together on Elephant Mountain, until 15-foot snow drifts could be plowed and dozens of rescuers could reach them the following day.

In addition to debris along the main trail, there are side trails that lead to other debris. Mementos and American flags dot various pieces of the wreckage, and visitors are asked not to remove anything from the site. Keep an eye out for strands of wire strewn across downed tree limbs, wreckage wedged in crooks of trees high up in the air, and myriad other detritus. Be sure and take a camera, too, it’s the best way to memorialize your visit.

Directions: Drive north from Greenville on Lily Bay Road for 6.7 miles, then take a right on Prong Pond Road. Drive 1.8 miles and bear right, then at the fork, turn right and drive another five miles and look for the trailhead on the left. The hike to the crash site is relatively easy and only about a half-mile-long. From Rockland, the drive time is about three hours.