Photo by Karen Abeyasekere | 100th Air Refueling Wing | 07.19.2024
The crew of “Little Boy Blue” pose for a photo by their B-17 Flying fortress in 1944. Little Boy Blue crashed in a field in Suffolk, England, after a mid-air collision caused the fuselage to be ripped in half. Exactly 80 years later, on July 19, 2024, a memorial service was held near the crash site to pay tribute to the crew, with their families in attendance. (Courtesy photo from Cotswold......
Photo by Karen Abeyasekere | 100th Air Refueling Wing | 07.19.2024
U.S. Air Force Airmen from Royal Air Force Mildenhall stand at attention in front of the flags as they prepare to lay a wreath and pay their respects at a memorial honoring the crew of a B-17 Flying Fortress, “Little Boy Blue,” at a ceremony near Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, July 19, 2024. The ceremony was held on the 80th anniversary of the crash, from which there were only two......
Photo by Karen Abeyasekere | 100th Air Refueling Wing | 07.19.2024
U.S. Air Force Maj. William Mullins, left, 351st Air Refueling Wing Squadron instructor pilot and 100th Air Refueling Wing Commander’s Action Group chief, places a wreath at a memorial honoring the crew of a B-17 Flying Fortress, “Little Boy Blue,” at a ceremony near Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, July 19, 2024. The ceremony was held on the 80th anniversary of the crash, from which......
Photo by Karen Abeyasekere | 100th Air Refueling Wing | 07.19.2024
U.S. Air Force Airmen from Royal Air Force Mildenhall salute during the playing of the British and American national anthems at the start of a memorial ceremony held on the 80th anniversary of a B-17 Flying Fortress crash near Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, July 19, 2024. The B-17 – “Little Boy Blue” crashed in a farmer’s field July 19, 1944, after its fuselage was ripped in half......
Photo by Karen Abeyasekere | 100th Air Refueling Wing | 07.19.2024
Patrick V. Hagerty, left, son of Staff Sgt. Harold “Hal” Hagerty, right-waist gunner on the B-17 Flying Fortress “Little Boy Blue” during World War II, talks about his father’s experience of when the aircraft crashed at a memorial ceremony near Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, July 19, 2024. The fuselage of the B-17 ripped in half after a collision with another aircraft on the way......
Photo by Karen Abeyasekere | 100th Air Refueling Wing | 07.19.2024
A memorial dedicated to the crew of a B-17 Flying Fortress, “Little Boy Blue” is on display after being unveiled at a ceremony near Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, July 19, 2024. The fuselage of the B-17 ripped in half after a collision with another aircraft on the way to a mission to bomb a ball-bearing factory in Schweinfurt, Germany. Only two of the crew survived. U.S. Air Force photo by......
Photo by Karen Abeyasekere | 100th Air Refueling Wing | 07.19.2024
Photos of the U.S. Army Air Forces crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress “Little Boy Blue” are on display following a memorial ceremony near Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, July 19, 2024. The plane crashed during World War II, July 19, 1944, in a farmer’s field, killing almost all its crew – only two survived. Families of all the crew members attended the ceremony and unveiling of the......
Photo by Karen Abeyasekere | 100th Air Refueling Wing | 07.19.2024
Pieces of the B-17 Flying Fortress “Little Boy Blue” are on display following a memorial ceremony near Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, July 19, 2024. The plane crashed during World War II, July 19, 1944, in a farmer’s field, killing almost all its crew – only two survived. Families of all the crew members attended the ceremony and unveiling of the memorial, along with Airmen from......
