The 80th anniversary of the World War Two B-17 bomber crash in Sheffield, in which 10 US airmen lost their lives, was recently commemorated with a service in the city. The plane, known as Mi Amigo, crashed in Endcliffe Park in February 1944 while returning from a bombing raid.
Descendants of the airmen who died traveled from various parts of the US to attend the service. The family of Mi Amigo pilot John Kriegshauser expressed deep emotions at the event, with Gene Cogorno, one of Kriegshauser’s relatives, describing the outpouring of support and memories from the British people as incredible.
Susannah Kriegshauser noted the amazing aspect of Sheffield residents still remembering the men who died in the crash after 80 years. Kristine Fronk, the granddaughter of co-pilot Lyle Curtis, who left behind his pregnant wife Irma in Idaho, also attended the memorial service.
Service in Sheffield Amid Bomber Crash (Credits: Sheffield Star)
She mentioned that the family had been learning a lot about Mr. Curtis and described the journey of discovering more about him as significant. Colton Fronk, Mr. Curtis’s great-grandson, highlighted how deeply the airman’s death had impacted their family.
Barry Darwin, who witnessed the crash’s aftermath as a four-year-old, emphasized the special nature of the annual memorial services. Mr. Darwin is a member of the Sheffield RAF Association, which organized a crowdfunding campaign to refurbish the memorial to the airmen and make it more visible and accessible.
In 2019, BBC presenter Dan Walker helped organize a 75th-anniversary flypast over Endcliffe Park after meeting Tony Foulds, another witness to the Mi Amigo crash who later tended to the memorial.
