385th Bombardment Group Memorials
Details:
Within the church, in the front left-hand corner of the nave.
A carved oak wood altar and reredos. Upon the altar, surmounted by a wooden cross, and within a glazed, wooden cabinet, is a book of remembrance for the 385th Heavy Bombardment Group. The book is blue and leather bounded while the wooden cabinet has a glass front. On the right-hand side of the reredos, is the commemoration message inscription in English and carved lettering. The memorials commemorate the men of the 385th BG who gave their lives during 1942-45.
The 385th Bomber Group, 550th Bomber Squadron of the Eighth Air Force was based at Station 155, Great Ashfield, England. It was known as ‘Van’s Valiants’ after their first Commanding Officer, Colonel Elliott Vandevanter. The 385th BG operated primarily as a strategic bombardment organization until the war ended, striking such targets as industrial areas, air bases, oil refineries, and communications centers in Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Norway. The group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for bombing an aircraft factory at Regensburg on 17 August 1943, after a long hazardous flight over enemy territory.
Source of information: Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register, www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk, http://www.suffolkvillage.info
Source of images:www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk
Monument Text:
Front cover of the book:
+ J.H.S.
IN MEMORIAM.
___________
THE OFFICERS & MEN
BELONGING TO
385TH HEAVY BOMBARDMENT GROUP
8TH U.S.A.A.F.
WHO MADE THE GREAT SACRIFICE,
2ND WORLD WAR
A.D. 1942-1945.
Inscription on the reredos:
IN MEMORIAM
_____
DEDICATED
TO THE
EVERLASTING MEMORY
OF THE
OFFICERS AND MEN
OF THE
385TH BOMBARDMENT GROUP
8TH AIR FORCE
US ARMY
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES
IN HEROIC SACRIFICE
AND
UNSELFISH DEVOTION
TO DUTY
_____
WORLD WAR II
· MCMXLV·