Monument Details

Rhinelander & Preston DH 4 Crew Memorial - Murville Town War Memorial

Details:

A slightly elevated area located on the northwest side of the church. The area is covered in gravel and contains 2 evergreen trees and the town's war memorial is in the center of the area.

Monument
A concrete monument with a three-tier base. It has an elongated middle section that contains the names of the town's war dead on its two sides. The top of the memorial has a statue of a soldier holding a rifle. On the back side (south), there is a graphic raised relief scene carved into the monument depicting two American airmen, Lieutenants Harry C. Preston and Philip N. Rhinelander, underneath their crashed plane.

These two U.S. airmen were shot down on September 26, 1918, by the German Richthofen Squadron during the great Argonne offensive. While they were providing cover fire for the rest of their squadron's retreat, Rhinelander and Preston's DH4 bombing plane was cut off by 5 enemy planes, who shot them down. They both died in the plane crash in Murville. They served with the 20th Aero Squadron, 1st Bombardment Group.

There is also an inscription with their names on it at the base of the sculpture.

Rhinelander is buried in an Isolated Burial (ISOB) just north of this location in the Murville cimetière communal.

Monument Text:

PRESTON HARRY CAMPBELL

RHINELANDER PHILIP NEWBOLD

LIEUTENANTS AVIATEURS AMERICAINS

TOMBES A MURVILLE DANS UN COMBAT AERIEN

English Translation:

PRESTON HARRY CAMPBELL

RHINELANDER PHILIP NEWBOLD

AMERICAN LIEUTENANT AVIATORS

SHOT DOWN IN MURVILLE IN AERIAL COMBAT

Commemorates:

People:

Harry Campbell Preston

Philip Newbold 'Phil' Rhinelander

Units:

1st Bombardment Group

20th Aero Squadron

American Expeditionary Forces (AEF)

American Field Service

US Army Air Corps

Wars:

WWI

Battles:

Meuse-Argonne Offensive

Other images :

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