Have you heard of these men - John Kriegshauser, John Humphrey, Robert Mayfield, Charles Tuttle, Vito Ambrosio, George Williams, Lyle Curtis, Melchor Hernandez, Harry Estabrooks and Maurice Robbins?... No? I thought not.
They lost their precious lives in Sheffield's Endcliffe Park on February 22nd 1944. They were the crew of the American "Mi-Amigo" Flying Fortress which attempted an emergency landing in my neighbourhood following an unsuccessful bombing mission to Aalborg, Denmark. The park is just down the hill from our house and it was there that they all burned to death after crashing into the trees behind the park's cafe. Here they are at their Northamptonshire base:-
Brave young men in their prime but they would never return to the land of chewing gum, nylon stockings and "Lucky Strike". Their war was over.
Every year a good number of Sheffielders still visit Endcliffe Park on the anniversary of the fatal crash. Thankfully the ten young men are not forgotten and there's a little memorial stone with bronze plaques screwed into it - at the very spot where the plane came down.
Wars cough up plenty of comic book heroes but many of the real heroes get forgotten. For example - John Kriegshauser, John Humphrey, Robert Mayfield, Charles Tuttle, Vito Ambrosio, George Williams, Lyle Curtis, Melchor Hernandez, Harry Estabrooks and Maurice Robbins. So let's hold hands and give them two minutes of our silence... For their lost horizons and for the ridiculous futility of war and for the loved ones they left behind.
Pictures taken yesterday morning:-
You're doing your part to keep alive the sacrifice of these men.
ReplyDelete"Per Ardua ad Astra" Red. I am proud to do my bit to honour them.
DeleteSuch a tragedy and a terrible loss of beautiful young men. Very sad indeed.
ReplyDeleteYou are right Leishy but of course it is a familiar story.
DeleteThis post wiped the smile off my face.
ReplyDeleteI always look at the smiling faces in these photos and think how fleeting life is for some people, particularly in war time.
It's a tribute the people of Sheffield who still remember these men.
Ms Soup
Yesterday I made you laugh. Today I made you glum - at least for a little while. Are you a string puppet Alphie?
DeleteHow nice to think that they're still remembered all these years later.
ReplyDeleteYes Jennifer. It has been nearly seventy two years since the "Mi-Amigo" came down.
DeleteThe ridiculous futility of war, indeed.
ReplyDeleteNo reply necessary.
DeleteI had never heard of this.
ReplyDeleteI find it incredible that any of them found their way back safely. So young and so little training.
Various other American bombers were lost that same day. Pilot John Kriegshauser received a posthumous medal for avoiding nearby houses.
DeleteWell done YP, you're doing your bit to keep their memory alive.
ReplyDeleteAt the going down of the sun and in the morning....
DeleteThose lads are not forgotten...you have made sure of that...and good on you for doing so, Yorkie.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Google will lead some of the boys' relatives to this blogpost. I hope so Lee.
DeleteI hope so, too, Yorkie. :)
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