Capt. Holmes P-51 (44-63214) Crash Site Memorial
Details:
Just off a trail in a wooded area. Monument
An inscribed polished marble monument about 4 feet high including his picture and unit insignia.
The memorial remembers Captain Robert B. Holmes, a P-51 Pilot who was killed at this location in April 1945.
On April 16, 1945, Captain Robert B. Holmes flying a P-51 (44-63214) of the 82nd Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group “Duxford Eagles”, 8th Air Force, out of USAAF Station F-357 (Duxford) on a mission to strafe enemy airfields in the present day Czech Republic. After strafing two airfields heading towards the third, his plane was hit by flak and he crashed and was killed near Prague. The 78th Fighter Group was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for successfully ground strafing aircraft of five airfields near Prague and Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, on 16 April 1945. Reference: Missing Aircraft Report {MACR}: 13862.
Monument Text:
The text is written in Czech and reads:
-78th Fighter Group Symbol; Picture of Holmes-
ZDE ZAHYNUL 16.4.1945
V TROSKÁCH LETADLA AMERICKÝ PILOT
Capt. ROBERT B. HOLMES 82. FSg 78. FG
ČEST JEHO PAMÁTCE
The English translation is:
On April 16, 1945
The American Pilot was killed here in his aircraft.
Capt ROBERT B. HOLMES
In His Memory
-Picture of a P-51-
