On the corner to the east of the open space on the southern side of the village hall perimeter.

A rectangular, upright, black marble stone set on a brick plinth. The front face is inscribed with the commemoration message followed by a list of names. On the top-left and right corner are the insignia of the 8^th Air Force and an image of a B-24 Liberator. On the rear of the stone is an engraving of a B-24 Liberator baring the squadron and identity marking of the aircraft that crashed. The memorial project was instigated by Michael Garrod during the Parish Council meeting at Thuxton Church on a summer evening in July 2010.

On June 4, 1944, preparations were at a critical stage for the D-Day invasion two days away.  At North Pickenham airfield in Norfolk where the 492nd Bomb Group was based, Lt. Raymond Sachtleben and his crew took off in their B-24H Liberator to bomb the airfield at Avord in France.  As the aircraft climbed to its cruising altitude and formation, an incident occurred, probably involving Sachtleben's aircraft and another B-24. While the details are not known, it is generally accepted that Lt. Sachtleben had to perform an evasive maneuver to avoid a mid-air collision and the severity of the action being outside the fully-loaded B-24’s abilities, a wingtip separated and the aircraft stalled. It was last seen by the crew of another aircrew falling through the clouds upside down and it subsequently crashed next to a pair of cottages on the edge of the village of Garveston, killing the entire crew of ten.

Upon hearing news of the crash, firemen from the nearby Shipdham airfield raced to the scene to assist in putting out the resulting fire and to rescue any survivors.   While they braved the burning wreckage, one or more of the bombs on board the aircraft exploded, killing two of the firemen, Pvt. Ted Bunalski and Sgt. Monroe Atchley.  Both were posthumously awarded the Soldiers Medal for heroism.

According to the official accident report, the true cause of the accident is unknown.

Source of information: www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk, Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register, http://www.garveston12.org.uk

Source of images: www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk, www.garveston12.org.uk, www.geograph.org.uk, The Garveston Twelve Facebook Page

Front face:

This memorial was erected by the people of Garveston to

record the sacrifice made by the members of the US Armed Forces

from the 492nd Bomb Group North Pickenham and the 2033rd Engineers

Fire Fighting Platoon Shipdham when a B-24 Liberator bomber

crashed in this village on the 4th June 1944

Dedicated on the 6th June 2012

Rear face:

B-24 Liberator from the 492and Bomb Group