On a roadside on the road between the towns of Vrábče

And Boršov nad Vltavou.

The marker consists of a brass inscribed plaque mounted to a large stone on the roadside.  Captain Ray Reuter’s plane crashed at this site.

Captain Raymond “Ray” Reuter was the Commander of the 503^rd Fighter Squadron, 339^th Fighter Group.  On April 17, 1945, Captain Reuter  flying his P-51(44-72485), lead his squadron on an airfield strafing mission over the present day Czech Republic.  1LT William Preddy was his wingman flying P-51 “Rusty” (44-11623).  William Preddy was the brother of the famous P-51 Mustang Ace, George Preddy.  Both Reuter and Preddy were killed on this mission.

The Preddy Memorial Foundation tells the story of this final mission:

William Preddy and his Commanding Officer, Captain Raymond Reuter were on a strafing mission with their squadron, the 503^rd Fighter Squadron of the 339^th Fighter Group “The Chequers” based out of Air Station F-378 (Fowlmere).  Over what is now the Czech Republic, Preddy and Reuter   gave chase to two Me- 262 jets after strafing airfields at Klatovy and Eisendorf. Although the Me 262 is much faster than the Mustang by about 100 mph, on some occasions the Mustangs were successful in catching the short range Me-262s in their landing pattern. However, apparently they did not catch the 262s ; their chase led them to Ceske Budejovice –– about 75 miles south of Prague –– where they decided to make one last strafing run before going home. Both were shot down by enemy ground fire. Reuter’s aircraft exploded when hit (Near Boršov nad Vltavou). Preddy crash-landed at a small village (Zaluzi) where he was rescued by a Czech citizen, Jan Smejkal. Jan took him about five kilometers in a horse-drawn cart to a German emergency treatment center where he was given first aid only. We were told by Jan Smejkal that Bill never regained consciousness. The German doctors refused to take Bill to the hospital in Ceske Budejovice. So Jan took him 10 more kilometers to the hospital where he died, probably on the 18th. He was buried on the 19th in a cemetery near the hospital. Later, his body was moved to the Lorraine American Cemetery near St. Avold, France and buried next to his brother George Preddy (Commander of the 328^th Fighter Squadron; 352nd Fighter Group).

Ray Reuter is buried in the Lorraine American cemetery near the Preddy brothers.

The crash site maker for William Preddy is located about 10 kilometers south of this site.  See this website Preddy P-51D “Rusty” (44-11623) Crash Site Memorial.

The text is written in Czech and English and reads: 

CAPT. RAYMOND F. REUTER
VELITEL 503. FSQ 339.FG 8.USAAF
BYL ZDE SESTŘELEN SE SVÝM MUSTANGEM P-51
17. DUBNA 1945
PŘI ÚTOKU NA LETIŠTĚ V PLANÉ U ČESKÝCH BUDĚJOVIC

COMMANDER OF 503.FSQ 339.FG 8. USAAF
WAS SHOT DOWN WITH HIS MUSTANG P-51
APRIL 17, 1945
DURING THE ATTACK OF THE AIRPORT IN PLANÁ U ČESKÝCH BUDĚJOVIC