FISHKILL, N.Y. -- It was a day many have sadly forgotten. 

“Totally unaware that this happened, there’s a lot of forgotten history, people are busy with their lives,” said David Rocco of the Friends of Mount Beacon 6 group. 

November 12, 1945, according to news reports, a plane carrying six people crashed on Mount Beacon. One of them onboard was a famous World War II hero named Dixie Kiefer. 

“First people to ever land a plane on an aircraft carrier at night in 1924. There’s just so many things including he was the commanding officer of the USS Yorktown,” said Rocco. 

News reports say weather that night was bad, it took crews more than 10 hours to find the wreckage and the victims, nicknamed the Mount Beacon 6. 

“It was down time for them, enjoying their free liberty of the weekend, and to survive the battles of war and to get killed during a peace time situation it’s very sad,” Rocco said. 

But, on Saturday morning, members of Friends of the Mount Beacon 6 lead a hike up the hill more than 1,200 feet up to the spot where wreckage can still be found. Some who tagged along were not familiar with crash, others knew it very well. 

“My wife’s brother was actually here when the crash happened and the day after it happened he hiked up with his friends and it was a god awful mess,” said hiker Bill Keating.

“My brother lived on Washington Ave and he saw the plane, there were a lot of low clouds and he heard a bang,” said another hiker, Atkinson George.

The hike organizers say it brings attention to the crash and those who died. 

“People from all over the country have reached out to me, because apparently of google alerts that pops up with certain subject matters,” Rocco said. 

The group hopes to honor the Mount Beacon 6 with a plaque at the town of Fishkill War Memorial overlooking the hill. They also hope to honor them on the 70th year since the crash in November. 

“People should pay respects to the veterans of the past, the forgotten heroes. Forgotten by some because most people at that time are no longer with us and unknown to many,” said Rocco.