The World War II career of Commodore Dixie Kiefer forms a nearly incredible history. Said to be the most battered man in the Navy, he was described by Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal as "the indestructible man."
While serving as executive officer of the carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5), then-Commander Kiefer earned the Distinguished Service Medal for his contributions during the Battle of Coral Sea in May 1942. A month later, he earned the Navy Cross for his extraordinary heroism during the Battle of Midway, in which the ship was lost. From the award citation: "... Later, while directing the abandonment of the YORKTOWN, Commander Kiefer, in lowering an injured man into a life raft, burned his hands so severely that when he himself went over the side and descended the line, he was unable to support his own weight. In the resultant fall he struck the ship's armor belt and suffered a compound fracture of the foot and ankle. Despite acute pain, he gallantly swam alongside of and pushed a life raft toward a rescuing destroyer until he became so completely exhausted he had to be pulled out of the water..."
After recovering from his injuries, Kiefer was promoted to Captain, and in May 1944 took command of the carrier USS Ticonderoga (CV-14). Operating near Formosa (Taiwan) in January 1945, the ship was struck twice by kamikaze aircraft and severely damaged. As described in Wikipedia, the first impact ignited fires among the fuel stores and aircraft on the hangar deck. Captain Kiefer deliberately flooded port-side compartments to put a 10-degree list on the ship, causing the flaming debris to slide overboard, and kept the ship in the battle. He himself was injured in the second attack, sustaining a broken arm and over 60 shrapnel wounds. He nevertheless remained in command on the bridge for 11 hours until the danger had passed. For this action, Captain Kiefer was awarded the Silver Star.
While recuperating from these most recent injuries, Kiefer was promoted to Commodore (at the time, a one-star rank, below a rear admiral) and assumed command of the naval air station at Quonset, Rhode Island. He evidently regarded this as a temporary stop, as he was quoted as saying on arrival that he had one limb which had not been broken and he planned on returning to battle until it was hit. Fortunately, the end of the war prevented this additional sacrifice. On November 11, 1945, however, Commodore Kiefer was returning to Quonset from Caldwell, NJ, when the aircraft in which he was a passenger crashed on the flanks of Mount Beacon in dense fog, killing him and the other five naval personnel aboard. Commodore Kiefer's body was identified by papers in his uniform pocket and the cast on his arm, not yet healed from the attack on Ticonderoga 10 months earlier.
Stage 1 of the cache marks the site of the crash in which Commodore Kiefer was killed. To reach it, take the red trail from the kiosk at the parking area to the intersection with an unblazed but well-defined woods road (waypoint provided), reached shortly after crossing the wooden plank bridge. The road will take you directly to GZ, about 0.8 miles from the parking area. If you prefer, you can instead remain on the red trail until it intersects with the white trail (waypoint provided), follow that to its intersection with the woods road (waypoint provided), and turn right to follow the road a few tenths of a mile to GZ. Please remain on the blazed trails and the woods road to minimize erosion and habitat damage.
At the posted coordinates is a copy of a newspaper article describing the crash and the ensuing rescue and recovery efforts. Please take a few moments here to read the article and pay your respects to this amazing individual and the sailors who served with him in his various commands.
Slightly uphill from the posted article at GZ, you will see a formal signpost commemorating the crash. Facing the sign, you will see a doubled-trunked tree about 15 feet beyond it. (See the photo in the gallery.) Stage 1 is a stamped metal disk chained to that tree at about waist height. (I don't believe in making people search for micros in the woods.) The disk contains the decimal portions of the coordinates for the final stage, which is an ammo can located at a respectful distance from the crash site.
Rattlesnakes have been observed in the Fishkill Ridge area, so please use caution on the trails and particularly when reaching into crevices. (This cache does not require reaching into any crevices.)
This park is owned and managed by Scenic Hudson. Individuals seeking geocaches do so at their own risk and must follow the park rules listed on the park’s kiosk.