Off the side of the road overlooking the valley, across from a wooden house.

The memorial includes a tall upright stone monument with the silhouette of a B-17 carved into the rock.  An inscribed plaque at the base of the monument and an information board. This memorial is situated between the two actual aircraft crash sites.

The monument remembers the crews of B-17 (42-31885) 'Lovely Ladies' & B-17 (42-31473) of the 20th Bomber Squadron, 2nd Bomber Group, 15th US Air Force, which were shot down on August 29, 1944, during "Mission 263". Fifteen of the crew were killed in action, and five were taken as POWs during this "Air Battle over the White Carpathians".

On August 29, 2944, the 15th Air Force conducted "Mission 263",  a raid on the Moravska Ostrava industrial complex (current-day city of Ostrava). The 2nd Bomber group supported this mission flying from flying from Amendola Air Base, Foggia, Italy. as become known as the "Air Battle over the White Carpathians", nine B-17Gs from 2nd Bomber Group were attacked by 89 German fighters and 20 minutes later eight of them were shot down and crashed in Slovakia (1), Czech Republic (7) and one crash landed in Hungary.  41 US airmen lost their lives, 28 of them were buried in a mass grave in Slavicin. Four fliers evaded capture, and 55 airmen ended up in German POW camps. All the planes of the 20th Bomber Squadron were shot down that day. Missing Air Crew Reports (MACR) 8099 & 8109.

The crew of B-17 (42-31885) 'Lovely Ladies' included: 

The crew of the B-17 (42-31473) 'My Baby' Included:

Several of those killed during Mission 263 were buried in a mass grave in nearby Slavicin or Nová Boáca (Slovakia).   See the site Slavicin - Cemetery and Site Nova Boasca -Cemetery for more about the mass graves

The 'Lovely Ladies' Crash Marker memorial is located nearby.  See Site Vyskovec- North.

The 'My Baby' Crash Marker is located just over the border in Slovakia.  See Site Nova Bosaca -Woods

Several museums in the area also remember this battle.  See sites: Sanov; Slavicin, and Bojkovice.

Search "Mission 263" for memorials and cenotaphs associated with this event on our website.

For more information, the  see the Air Battle over the White Carpathian website at: www.leteckabitvakarpaty.cz 

Special thanks to Mission 263 - Aug 29,1944 / Letecká bitva 29.8.1944 Facebook page & group for remembering this battle and for the several memorials that remember this mission.

The inscription on the plaque at the base of the monument is in Czech.  It reads:

DNE 29. 8. 1944 BYLY V LETECKÉM SOUBOJI SESTELENY V TOMTO PROSTORU
DVA AMERICKÉ BOMBARDÉRY TYPU B 17-G.

(On 29 August 1944 two American bombers were shot down in aerielcombat)

ZAHYNULO PATNÁCT LETC:

(Fifteen Airmen were killed):

1ST LT MERRILL A. PRENTICE
2ND LT THEO HEATH
2ND LT HAROLD W. HELVESTON
2ND LT ROBERT A. LAUX
S/SGT EDWIN R. EVERETT
S/SGT HAROLD SCHIRMER
SGT FRANK J. BALCERZAK
SGT KENNETH W. ELLIS
SGT ROBERT E. FITCH
SGT HERBERT S. GOODSTEIN
SGT CHARLES A. MUNDEN
SGT LEROY E. JOHNSON
SGT CLAUDE A. PETREY
SGT ELMER J. PRUITT
SGT LUTHER L. DURRETTE

NEBUDOU ZAPOMENUTI, NEBO POLOILI IVOTY TAKÉ ZA NAI SVOBODU.

(They will not be forgotten as they gave their lives for our freedom)