On 28 August 2013, members of the 10th Mountain Division (LI), Fort Drum Staff Judge Advocate Office attended the ceremony to unveil the historical marker for the T-2278 Barracks Fire which led to the Supreme Court ruling in Feres v. US (1950). The history, as it reads on the marker:
SITE OF THE T-2278 BARRACKS FIRE
THE BARRACKS FIRE: BETWEEN NOVEMBER 1947 AND FEBRUARY 1948, FORT DRUM (THEN PINE CAMP) WAS INVOLVED IN EXERCISE SNOW DROP, AN 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION TRAINING EXERCISE, WHICH WAS DESIGNED TO TEST THE USE OF AIRBORNE TROOPS AND EQUIPMENT DURING WINTER CONDITIONS. AT 0230 ON THE MORNING OF 10 DECEMBER 1947, T-2278 CAUGHT FIRE, RAPIDLY CONSUMING THE BUILDING AND KILLING 5 ARMY OFFICERS WHO WERE PARTICIPATING IN THE EXERCISE. IT IS THE ONLY STRUCTURAL FIRE IN HISTORY OF FORT DRUM THAT HAS RESULTED IN FATALITIES. OF THE 15 OFFICERS IN THE BUILDING, 4 DIED IMMEDIATELY, 5 WERE INJURED, AND 6 ESCAPED UNHARMED DUE TO THE HEROISM OF CAPTAIN FRANCIS TURNER WHO SOUNDED THE ALARM, REMAINED IN THE BUILDING TO HELP THE OTHERS, AND WHO DIED ON 28 DECEMBER OF THE BURNS HE SUSTAINED THAT NIGHT.
THE FERES DOCTRINE: IN THE MONTHS AFTER THE FIRE THE BEREAVED FAMILIES OF THE DECEASED BROUGHT SUIT AGAINST THE U.S. GOVERNMENT FOR WRONGFUL DEATH DUE TO ALLEGED NEGLIGENCE UNDER THE FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS ACT WHICH EVENTUALLY MADE ITS WAY TO THE US SUPREME COURT IN 1950. IN FERES V. UNITED STATES, 340 U.S. 135 (1950), THE SUPREME COURT RULED THAT THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IS NOT LIABLE UNDER THE FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS ACT FOR INJURIES TO MEMBERS OF THE ARMED SERVICES WHILE ON ACTIVE DUTY. THIS RULING EFFECTIVELY BARS SERVICE MEMBERS OR THEIR FAMILIES FROM COLLECTING DAMAGES FROM THE U.S. GOVERNMENT FOR WRONGFUL DEATH OR INJURY.
THE VICTIMS: CAPTAIN ROBERT L. DODGE (UNITED STATES ARMY RESERVE) OF PETERSBURG, VA; LIEUTENANT RUDOLPH J. FERES (456TH PARACHUTE FIELD ARTILLERY BATTALION, 505TH AIRBORNE BATTALION COMBAT TEAM, 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION) OF BINGHAMTON, NY; LIEUTENANT ROBERT D. MANLEY (38TH INFANTRY DIVISION) OF MANHATTAN, KS; LIEUTENANT WALLACE H. SWILLEY JR. (456TH PARACHUTE FIELD ARTILLERY BATTALION, 505TH AIRBORNE BATTALION COMBAT TEAM, 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION) OF HIGH SPRINGS, FL; CAPTAIN FRANCIS H. TURNER (QUARTERMASTER GENERAL’S OFFICE) OF ELMIRA, NY.
Pictured above left to right: CPT Matthew Jubelt, MAJ Sean Gysen (Deputy SJA), Mr. Joe Fedorko, Mrs. Carolyn Leps and Elizabeth Barbee (CPT Turner’s daughters), Mr. Jim King, LTC Marie Anderson (SJA), CPT Greer Illingworth, CPT Tracy GreinerLee, and CPT James Harris-Chappell.