In the east churchyard.

A free-standing square concrete stone with a metal plaque inset in the center and set on a small pavement. The plaque features a depiction of an airman leaning out of the cockpit and holding a laurel wreath. The plaque is inscribed in English with the insignia of the 34^th Bomber Group and 8^th Air Force in relief.

The first USAAF tenant of Mendlesham was the United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force 34th Bombardment Group (Heavy), arriving from Blythe AAF California. The 34th was assigned to the 93d Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code was a "Square-S". Its operational squadrons were:

• 4th Bombardment Squadron (Q6)
• 7th Bombardment Squadron (R2)
• 18th Bombardment Squadron (8I)
• 391st Bombardment Squadron (3L)

The group flew both Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign.

The 34th flew 170 operations from the station, the first sixty-two while flying B-24 Liberators and the remainder with B-17G Fortresses. The change-over was made during the summer of 1944 when, in common with other groups assigned to the 93rd Combat Wing, the 3rd Division standardized on the Fortress. The group helped to prepare for the invasion of Normandy by bombing airfields in France and Germany, and supported the landing in June by attacking coastal defenses and communications. Continued to take part in the campaign in France by supporting ground forces at Saint-Lô, 24–25 July, and by striking V-weapon sites, gun emplacements, and supply lines throughout the summer of 1944.

The group converted to B-17s in September 1944 and engaged primarily in bombardment of strategic objectives from October 1944 to February 1945. Targets included marshalling yards in Ludwigshafen, Hamm, Osnabrück, and Darmstadt; oil centers in Bielefeld, Merseburg, Hamburg, and Misburg; factories in Berlin, Dalteln, and Hanover; and airfields in Münster, Neumünster, and Frankfurt. During this period the group also supported ground forces during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944-January 1945. In March 1945, with few industrial targets remaining and with Allied armies advancing across Germany, the 34th turned almost solely to interdicting enemy communications and supporting Allied ground forces.

Before V-E Day, it carried food to flooded areas of the Netherlands (Operation Chowhound), and after V-E Day transported prisoners of war from German camps to Allied centers. The 34th Bomb Group returned to Sioux Falls AAF, South Dakota on 28 August 1945 and was inactivated.

Source of information: Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register, en.wikipedia.org

Source of images: Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register, wikimedia.org

TO THE AMERICAN AIRMEN

OF THE 34TH WHO, IN VALOUR

GAVE THEIR LIVES TO THE VICTORY

THAT MADE REAL THE CHALLENGE

FOR WORLD PEACE AND UNITY

THE 34TH HEAVY BOMBARDMENT GROUP

A UNIT OF THE UNITED STATES EIGHT AIR FORCE

IN WORLD WAR II

APRIL 1944 TO JUNE 1945

MENDLESHAM AERODROME

SUFFOLK