Walter Bigelow Tower Rosen of New York, New York, served in the 158 (R.A.F.) Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force as a Flying Officer during World War II. He was a crew member of the Halifax aircraft # LK 839, which, on August 17, 1944, was returning from the target at night when it crashed at Foston-on-the Wolds, Yorkshire, England. F/O Rosen died of his injuries the next day in the Driffield Emergency Hospital.

From the CWGC Website:

Born 3 July 1915, RCAF Flying Officer Walter Bigelow Rosen died on 18 August 1944 from injuries sustained during a crash landing after his fifth bombing sortie over Kiel, Germany, two days prior.

He is buried at Stonefall Cemetery in Harrogate, England, the only member of his immediate family not buried in the Rosen family plot at St. Matthew’s Church in Bedford, New York, in the United States. However, the Rosens erected in the plot a memorial obelisk designed by the American sculptor Malvina Hoffman.

Walter was the son of Walter Tower Rosen (1875–1951), an immigrant from a German banking family, and Lucie Bigelow (Dodge) Rosen (1890-1968), from a prominent New York family with industrial and literary roots. In addition to their townhouse on West 54th Street in Manhattan, in 1928 they purchased an estate called Caramoor in Katonah, NY, 30 miles north of New York City as a summer home. The Rosens had two children: Walter Bigelow, who was always called “young Walter” and daughter Anne (1917–2009).

Young Walter was eager to join the fight, but since the United States was not yet in the war he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force on 24 October 1941 and was stationed in Yorkshire, England. He was already an accomplished amateur pilot.

With family living still in Europe, the Rosens had great concern over the war in Europe. Indeed, Walter’s aunt, Jeanne (Rosen) Magre (1886–1943), due to her Jewish heritage, was deported from her home in Nice, France, to Auschwitz in 1943 where she perished in November of that year.

At the time of his death, young Walter was engaged to Ruth “Gigi” Coit (1919–2003), a British subject. Although their engagement was not yet public, they planned to marry had young Walter survived, and Ruth remained close to the Rosens.

In 1945, Walter and Lucie Rosen, who were great patrons of the arts, established the Caramoor Summer Music Festival in the memory of their son, and as a place for others who had suffered loss to relax and feel the restorative power of music. Today the Caramoor Center for the Arts provides concerts, educational events, and tours of the historic Rosen house for the public.

In October 2025, a group from the Rosens’ home parish, St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Bedford, New York, visited Walter’s grave to pay their respects. The Rosen family were active members and devoted much time and treasure to the parish, which is near to the family’s beloved estate.