In an open field.

The memorial includes parts of the B-17 aircraft crafted into an upright memorial with an inscribed plaque and a cross.

The monument remembers the crews of B-17 (42-31885) 'Lovely Ladies' of the 20th Bomber Squadron, 2nd Bomber Group, 15th US Air Force, which was shot down here on August 29, 1944, during "Mission 263". Nine of the 10 crew were killed in action.  One survived and was taken as a POW  during this "Air Battle over the White Carpathians".

On August 29, 2944, the 15th Air Force conducted "Mission 263",  a raid on the Moravska Ostrava industrial complex (current-day city of Ostrava). The 2nd Bomber group supported this mission flying from flying from Amendola Air Base, Foggia, Italy. as become known as the "Air Battle over the White Carpathians", nine B-17Gs from 2nd Bomber Group were attacked by 89 German fighters and 20 minutes later eight of them were shot down and crashed in Slovakia (1), Czech Republic (7) and one crash landed in Hungary.  41 US airmen lost their lives, 28 of them were buried in a mass grave in Slavicin. Four fliers evaded capture, and 55 airmen ended up in German POW camps. All the planes of the 20th Bomber Squadron were shot down that day. Missing Air Crew Reports (MACR) 8099 & 8109.

The crew of B-17 (42-31885) 'Lovely Ladies' included: 

See the site Slavicin - Cemetery  for more about the mass grave there.

The 'Lovely Ladies' and 'My Baby' Memorial is located nearby.  See Site Vyskovec- South.

Several museums in the area also remember this battle.  See sites: Sanov; Slavicin, and Bojkovice.

Search "Mission 263" for memorials and cenotaphs associated with this event on our website.

For more information, the  see the Air Battle over the White Carpathian website at: www.leteckabitvakarpaty.cz 

Special thanks to Mission 263 - Aug 29,1944 / Letecká bitva 29.8.1944 Facebook page & group for remembering this battle and for the several memorials that remember this mission.

The text on the plaque is written in Czech and reads:

PER ARDUA AD ASTRA -
U.S.AIRFORCE - B-17-F FLYING FORTRESS

- VYKOVEC 29.8.1944 -
V TCHTO MÍSTECH PADLO DEVT
AMERICKÝCH LETC.

(Nine US Airmen fell here)

2ND/LT MERRILL A. PRENTICE
2ND/LT CHARLES H. MC VEY
2ND/LT ROBERT A. LAUX
T/SGT HERBERT GOODSTEIN
T/SGT FRANK J. BALCERZAK
S/SGT LEROY E. JOHNSON
S/SGT CLADE A. PETREY
S/SGT ROBERT E. FITCH
S/SGT KENNETH W. ELLIS

EST JEJICH PAMÁTCE!

(To their memory)

Note:  2LT Theo Heath was inadvertently left of this inscription when the memorial was created in the 1980s.