Photo By Richard Komurek | American and Belgian Families pose for a picture in front of a plaque honoring the...... read more read more
[Editor's Note: The following story is a part of USAG Benelux’s “Honoring our Legacy” series in which we tell stories of World War I, World War II, the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Alliance achievements throughout the decades.]
CHIEVRES, Belgium – On April 13, 1944, an American B-17 Flying Fortress was returning to the United Kingdom after the successful bombing of ball bearing factories in Schweinfurt, Germany when it was struck by anti-aircraft fire from German forces at Chièvres Air Base. The B-17 caught fire and crashed in a farmer’s field in the nearby village of Fouleng, Belgium, killing six of 10 crewmembers.
The city of Silly pays tribute to the fallen Royal Flush aircrew each year with a wreath-laying ceremony at the crash site in Fouleng to honor lives lost and remember efforts made by the Belgian Resistance to assist the crash survivors.
During WWII, B-17 and B-24 bomber missions were notoriously dangerous due to the high risks involved in flying over German occupied territory. According to the Air and Space Forces Association, more than 50,000 Airmen lost their lives in the five years of WWII, with most losses being from bomber aircraft. The average age of the crew of a B-17 was less than 25 and their chance of survival when flying a mission was less than 50 percent.
Pilot 1st Lt. James R. Lavin was one of the young Royal Flush Airmen who died in Fouleng, together with crewmembers 2nd Lt. Calvin L. Anthes, 2nd Lt. Louis A Benton, Staff Sgt. Lloyd G. Brady, Staff Sgt. James W. Malone and Staff Sgt. Raymond R. Marz. Lavin’s niece, Donna Schurman, was among those present at the ceremony together with her three sons and their Family members. Schurman, from Lafayette, Indiana, has been a driving force behind efforts to bring the Families of the fallen and survivors together to honor the Royal Flush crew with a commemoration ceremony that first began in the year 2000.
“Growing up my mother would speak about my uncle Bob and it would make her sad,” said Schurman. “I always wondered what his last words were. They could see the English Channel and then ‘boom’, they didn’t make it.”
Though Schurman has been coming to Belgium for the remembrance ceremonies for more than two decades, this year’s 80th anniversary was special in that it was the first year that all three of her sons could attend.
“I can’t tell you how much this means … it means a lot and is one of the highlights of my life,” she said.
Schurman’s son Brett, was present for both the 70th and 80th anniversary ceremonies, noticed some distinct changes between the two events.
The last time I was here, there were two surviving crew members of the plane, which was amazing. This year there is probably double the amount of people than 10 years ago, but sadly this year none of the survivors from that time are still alive, said Brett Schurman.
The efforts on both sides of the Atlantic to honor his great-uncle and the other members of the Royal Flush crew is something that gives Brett Schurman a sense of pride and appreciation. In 1998 his mother took the initiative to use dial-up internet and search for one of the survivors named Charlie Johnson. Her search found 160 men named Charlie Johnson and she called one after another until the 64th call, when she found the correct Charlie Johnson that flew on the Royal Flush B-17 with her uncle.
As well as personal pride, there are great people over here in Belgium who are very grateful and want to remember the history of what happened during WWII, said Brett Schurman.
Speakers at the ceremony included Donna Schurman, Christian Leclercq, mayor of the city of Silly; Pierre Bonnet, son of Ghislain Bonnet who witnessed the crash; and Tucker Brown, a representative from the U.S. Embassy in Brussels, Belgium.
“Thank you to all our liberators, all those men who came from so far away to save a land that was not theirs,” said Bonnet. “What would have become of us without them?”
“In addition to the six crew who lost their lives here, we also remember that four crew survived, including three who evaded German capture thanks to efforts by the local Belgian Resistance,” said Brown. “Today is part of the long, important tradition of Americans and Belgians remembering together our past and keeping the memory of the fallen alive.”
Events like the Royal Flush commemoration demonstrate that although many of the veterans and witnesses of WWII are no longer here to share their stories of valor, sacrifice and survival, their legacy lives on and continues to inspire new generations to remember the lessons of history and appreciate the freedoms we enjoy today.
| Date Taken: | 04.17.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 04.17.2024 04:51 |
| Story ID: | 468702 |
| Location: | SILLY, BE |
| Web Views: | 39 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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