Memorial Parade

After much fruitless searching to find surviving relatives to attend the unveiling of Redlingfield village’s memorial to the crew of the B-17 that crashed near Green Farm in 1943, relations of two of the airmen who lost their lives have been in touch thanks to the village’s website which uses the OneSuffolk hosting service for parish councils.

Ralph Schimmel, a nephew of Sgt Charles E Phinney, from New York State found out about the memorial, landing on our website, while researching his uncle, who was the ball turret gunner. His younger brother, a commercial airline pilot and former military pilot, visited the crash site several years ago while in the UK.

Marcia A Moyer, the niece of co-pilot 2nd Lt Warren Mansfield Franklin Strawn, also landed on our website. Marcia's mother, 88-year-old Reynolda S Clegg, and two other siblings of 2nd Lt Strawn are still living, 97-year-old Martha M Scott, and 85-year-old L B Strawn. Thanks to Marcia we now have a wealth of material about her uncle, who was know as Mansfield, and pictures of the crew. It is hoped some of the relatives will be able to visit the memorial to the Flying Fortress which crashed in the village on November 19th 1943 killing all ten crew in the near future.

At the new memorial in the village, are, from left: Lt Col Brent Vosseller from USAF Lakenheath; a trio of US veterans in the UK as part of their 2010 reunion tour - Staff Sgt Earl Joswick, 1st Lt Robert Spinnenweber, and Staff Sgt Frank Martin; and USAF Lakenheath chaplain Capt Richard Holmes.

 

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Thanks to Marcia we now know that six of the crew were originally buried in a "group" grave in the US Military Cemetery in Brookwood, England. These crew members were: 2nd Lt Strawn; S/Sgt Kenneth Cosby, tail gunner; S/Sgt Gordon V Sorenson, radio operator; S/Sgt Gail A Richmond Jr, top-turret, gunner/flight engineer; Sgt Phinney; and Sgt Julius W Torok, right waist gunner.

These men were returned to the US for burial in a veteran's cemetery in New Albany, Indiana, probably in late 1948.
Letters from 2nd Lt Strawn to his family in the States written just days before the crash tell of the crews earlier ditching of their aircraft in the North Sea and of his leave to recuperate.

In one letter he tells in a matter of fact way of flak and how over the course of a mission all their B-17’s engines failed, crew members passed out from lack of oxygen and came close to death and finally they ditched in the North Sea. He says: “We only floated about 10 hrs which is not at all bad.”

In another letter written on November 16 1943, just three days before the fatal crash in Redlingfield, he writes of the seven days leave the crew were given to recuperate for their North Sea ditching.

He ends the letter talking of the first formal dance of the winter season in Southport: “I took a very pretty little English girl to the dance . . . She is the prettiest thing I’ve seen since I left the US I’m going to see her again some time.”

The 95th BG Heritage Association in Horham is updating it’s display about the crash and Redlingfield’s website also has much more new material about the crash including more pictures, more of the letters and many moving poems written by Lt Strawn’s talented family.

Many thanks to Marcia A Moyer, proud niece of 2nd Lt Strawn. Also thanks to Mike Ager & Janet from Redlingfield for bringing us this news and we hope that the website continues to go from strength to strength. If you would like to tell us about news in your community or organisation then please email kerry.burn@onesuffolk.co.uk.