385th Bomb Group Monument
Details:
The monument is located in front of the church, just a few steps from the museum. Monument
A dramatic concrete structure framing a propellor blade from a bomber. Three insignias line the top of the structure, and a bronze plaque is mounted at the bottom. The plaque is inscribed in English text which contains the names of the crewmembers of the 2 planes that accidentally collided over Perle on July 12, 1944. The monument was dedicated on June 21, 1998.
On July 12th 1944, a formation of American Bombers coming from Great Britain and whose mission was the city of Munich in Germany, flew over the small village of Perle in the North of Luxembourg. Some of the bombers were B-17s belonging to the 385th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force. For reasons unknown, two of the B-17s collided, and crashed. The two Flying Fortresses were B-17 number 42-31917 "Curley's Klds" and number 42-102606 "Off Spring". Only two of the 20 crewmembers survived the impact by parachuting to safety, one from each plane. Sgt. Larry Atiyeh, from "Curley's Kids" and Sgt. Robert McPherson, from "Off Spring" The other 18 crewmembers all died in the crash. The bodies were transported to the old school of Perle, today's actual 385th Bomb Group Memorial Museum, in order to be identified. Most of the crewmembers were identified with help of the personal items and the dog tags they wore. The police of Perle collected all weapons and ammunition from the wreckage and put them in safe keeping. Some bombs from the planes were defused on site by military engineers of the German army. Since it was impossible to celebrate a requiem during the Nazi occupation of Luxembourg for the B-17 crewmembers that died, a ceremony took place in the church of Perle after the liberation on October 17th 1944 at 18:30. Eighteen candles and eighteen helmets, one for each airman, were placed in the church to honor those crewmembers which died.
Source of information and photos: https://www.facebook.com/385bg
Monument Text:
385 th. Bomb Group
550 th. SQUADRON B-17 G No. 42-102606 | 551 st. SQUADRON B-17 G No. 42-31917 |
In kind memory of
1st Lt. | Robert L. Mc DONALD | Capt. | Richard B. WHITE |
2nd Lt. | Stephen F. RYAN | 2nd Lt. | Patrick J. FLANAGAN |
2nd Lt. | William T. HENRY | 2nd Lt. | Clarence E. GITTINS |
F/O | Francis M. CHRISMAN | F/O | James W. JOHNSTON |
S/Sgt. | Russel HALE | S/Sgt. | Marvin W. NIEMAN |
S/Sgt. | Peter J. HEFFERMAN | S/Sgt. | Harry E. FITZWATER |
S/Sgt. | Walter R. BEROSH | S/Sgt. | William LORD jr |
S/Sgt. | Peter LINTON | S/Sgt. | Homer COMEGYS |
T/Sgt. | George E. BROWN | S/Sgt. | Samuel L. CANTER |
who gave their lives
in the fight for freedom in Europe
when their Flying Forstresses collided by accident over Perlé and Wolwelange
on the 12th. of July 1944.
Perlé the 21st. of June 1998
Below the plaque:
1st LT LEWIS C. WILLIAMS, 100 BOMB GROUP, 349 th Sqr
+9 th of November 1944
