On the plinth of the town war memorial.

Monument

The town war memorial commemorates First Lieutenant O’Connor and Lieutenant Peterson who died in 1943. The inscription is written in gold letters. Lts O'Connor and Peterson were crewmembers of the B-17 Flying Fortress with serial number 42-5792, known as "The Mugger," which was part of the 358th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group. On July 4, 1943, while on a mission, the aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed near Noyen-sur-Sarthe, close to Malicorne-sur-Sarthe, 18 miles southwest of Le Mans, France.

1Lt O'Connor, the aircraft’s pilot, and 2Lt Peterson, the bombardier, were killed in the crash. Four crew members (including the navigator and radio operator) were captured and became prisoners of war, while four others managed to evade capture, aided by local French citizens. Unfortunately, some of those French citizens were later deported and killed for assisting the crew.

Source of information: www.americanairmuseum.com, b17flyingfortress.de

Source of photos: www.memorialgenweb.org, www.google.com/maps

1943

CPT O’CONNOR

LT PETERSON