Newspaper Article
Download PhotoFrom a Normandy newspaper - Translation from French:
On July 4, 1943, an American plane crashed.
Belfonds -- On Saturday, more than 200 people gathered to remember. Among them, 5 descendants of the airmen, traveled here from the US.
Photo caption: The six Americans who traveled here specially for the 75th anniversary pose around the monument.
News story:
“I am representing my family in honoring the memory of my grandfather, Gordon Erickson,” announced Dawn Walker. It was this young woman’s first trip to Belfonds, located in France’s Orne departement. “My grandfather never talked about the crash of the B-17 that he was piloting in July 1943. We didn’t know much about this incident. We learned a little more after his visit to Belfonds in 1983, thanks to a few newspaper clippings.”
On Saturday, Dawn Walker was surrounded by 5 compatriots participating in the ceremony honoring “the memory of the American aviators who died for our freedom, as well as the members of the Resistance and the inhabitants of Belfonds who risked their lives, and the 19 of them who paid the ultimate price,” as Bernard Chevalier, president of the Belfonds veterans’ association, stated in his opening dedication.
Keeping the memory alive
“On Sunday, July 4, 1943, at noon, a B-17 bomber was hit by a Luftwaffe fighter plane,” Bernard Chevalier explained. “The bomber made a turn to allow the crew to jump from the plane. Eight of them made the jump. Two others, trapped by the flames engulfing their stations, died in the crash. Immediately, members of the area’s Resistance along with townspeople dedicated to the Allied cause hid away the surviving crew and brought them food, water, and medical attention.”
The Germans raked the countryside, denunciations occurred, and approximately 50 people were arrested. Seventeen of them were imprisoned and deported to German concentration camps. None of them returned.
The names of all this story’s heroes were read before a gathering of more than 200 people. Many bouquets of flowers were placed at the foot of the monument, which had been erected in the middle of a hedgerow, not far from the site of the crash.
Dawn Walker attended the ceremony with a friend. Next to them were Joan and Mark Olson, who had made the trip to the Orne to honor the B-17’s co-pilot, Clifford Dartt, who was taken prisoner and set free April 29, 1945. Joan Olson is his daughter. Also present were Michelle Hammon and her husband David. This was the third trip to Belfonds for the grand-niece of Francis Hackley, who died during the crash. “He died here, and I am very proud of him,” she declared, eyes full of tears. I have come to honor his memory, so that his story stays alive.”
Story by Fabienne Gerault
Image and information provided by Mark Olson, son-in-law of Clifford Dartt, in July 2018.
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- Created on
- Sunday 1 July 2018
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- Saturday 14 July 2018
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