02/19/2026
Sunday is the day!
In our first story we recounted the story of how four pilot trainees of Britain’s Royal Air Force lost their lives after crashing into our mountains here during bad weather.
In this story we will remember how the AT6 Monument—which honors the four fallen fliers—came to be erected on Big Mountain, in the heart of the Kiamichi Wilderness.
In our next and final story we will talk about our plans to host the British for a small commemoration at the Monument. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us on February 22, 2026, at approximately 2:00 p.m.!
How Could We Have Forgotten?
Rattan is a small country school located 12 miles east of Antlers. In 1999 its students began looking into the tale—almost a legend—of lethal crashes in the Kiamichi Mountains by Royal Air Force planes during World War II.
The students decided they should learn the story, find the crash sites, raise money, and build a monument.
Area residents who located the crashed planes in 1943 helped the Rattan students pinpoint the crash sites. One, above Moyers on White Rock Mountain, is very difficult to reach. The other, on Big Mountain along what is now Sherman Road in the Kiamichi Wilderness, is easy to reach.
Most notably, the Big Mountain crash site is marked by a small boulder that local rescuers said the crashing plane turned upright, and they referred to as a “natural Tombstone”.
Building the Monument:
A local Rattan-area mason volunteered his efforts to build a monument, provided the Rattan students raised the money for materials. And they did!
The students learned they could not place insignia on the monument without British approval, and reached out to authorities in London. Her Majesty’s Government responded and provided the official seal of the Royal Air Force, with its blessing.
The landowner who owns the crash site on Big Mountain readily agreed to host the monument, and the students were off to the races.
The resulting AT6 Monument—which was placed adjacent to the Natural Tombstone—is an obelisk on which is carved the names of the four deceased pilots and navigators. It very notably “dips its wings” to the Natural Tombstone by gesturing to it with an arrow.
The British Come to Big Mountain:
People around the world were captivated by the Rattan students’ project, and people across England began searching for surviving family members. This proved successful. They also located the pilot of a British plane which had made a precautionary landing at Jumbo in the bad weather, who had moved to New Zealand after the war, and his navigator.
Students asked British Airways if it would fly the survivors here for the monument’s dedication. The airline said yes! It also flew the Lord Mayor of the London Borough of Ilford, from which one of the pilots came, and Ilford’s official Mace Bearer (the person charged with maintaining the official mace, or ceremonial representation of the government). And they came in full regalia!
In addition, members of the British media came, representing the BBC, London’s Daily Telegraph newspaper, and other newspapers.
Representing the British Government was Britain’s Consul General, as well as its military air attaché, who came from the British Embassy in Washington. Representing the New Zealand Government was its military air attaché, who also came from Washington.
As students learned of more and more people who were planning to attend the monument’s dedication, they reached out for assistance from area communities. This proved providential! Over 1,000 crowded onto Big Mountain to attend the dedication, and they were all fed by area communities in the Moyers school gymnasium.
Since that time mostly-yearly commemorations have been held at the AT6 Monument. The last of the larger ones was held in 2018 and hosted by the Chief and Assistant Chief of the Choctaw Nation, and featured the return of the British Consul General.
The Royal Air Force will again be with us at 2:00 p.m. on February 22, 2026. Please come and welcome them to our beautiful wilderness, and—as always—join us in helping preserve and protect the monument which commemorates their fallen comrades. You will find the British are deeply grateful and moved by what we do for them here. 🇬🇧
