315th Troop Carrier Group Monument
Details:
On the east side of the junction.
The monument comprises a 2.5-meter high limestone obelisk of traditional design, the obelisk itself is set on the out-sailing cornice of a square-sectioned plinth. The plinth stands on a shallow, square, base with a flagged surround.
A bronze dedication plaque set on the front face of the lower part of the obelisk records a brief history of the airfield’s wartime use. Below this, on the front face of the plinth, a second bronze plaque bears the names of those flying out of Spanhoe Airfield who died in service. On the left face of the obelisk is a small, bronze, unit badge of the 315th Troop Carrier Group. On the right face is a small, bronze, badge of IX Troop Carrier Command.
The monument is surrounded by a small paved area. Close by is an information panel explaining the role of the airfield. The monument was erected by the 315th Troop Carrier Group Association in 1983.
Spanhoe Airfield was originally intended to be an operational bomber station. It was completed late in 1943 and opened in early 1944. The airfield was allocated to the US Army Air Force as part of the development of the 9th Air Force. Its only operational use was by the 315th Troop Carrier Group, which, following intensive training, employed C-47 and C-53 aircraft to drop paratroopers and deliver troops and supplies by glider during the Allied invasion of Europe.
Forty-eight aircraft participated in the first assault on 4 June 1944. The Group was also employed in Operation Market Garden in September 1944; resupply missions to support advancing Allied troops in France; and in support of Operation Varsity, the crossing of the River Rhine, in March 1945. The Group left the airfield in April 1945. For the accuracy of its work on D-Day, the Group was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and for its participation, and resulting losses, in Operation Market Garden, the Group is honored annually by the Royal Family of the Netherlands.
Following the end of the Second World War, the airfield was used by the No. 253 Maintenance Unit. This unit disbanded in 1947 and the airfield was returned to agricultural uses, except for the southern part which is still in use as an airfield.
Source of information: www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk, Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register, historicengland.org.uk
Source of images:www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk
Monument Text:
Plaque on the front face of the obelisk:
SPANHOE AIRFIELD
1944 -1945
THE SQUADRONS OF 315TH TROOP CARRIER
GROUP U.S. ARMY AIR FORCES
FLEW FROM THIS SITE
ON AIRBORNE MISSIONS TO
NORMANDY, ARNHEM AND THE RHINE
FOR THE LIBERATION OF WESTERN EUROPE
AND THE DEFENSE OF FREEDOM
ERECTED BY THE W.W.II 315TH
TROOP CARRIER ASSOCIATION
1983
Plaque on the right-hand side of the obelisk:
ON 18TH SEPTEMBER 1944
582 MEN OF THE 10TH BATTALION,
THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT
WERE FLOWN FROM THIS AIRFIELD BY THE
315TH TROOP CARRIER GROUP, USAAF
THEY PARACHUTED INTO HOLLAND
AS PART OF OPERATION
MARKET GARDEN
(THE BATLLE OF ARNHEM)
FEW RETURNED
Plaque on the front face of the plinth:
THOSE WHO GAVE ALL
ABENDSCHOEN, RUSSELL W. ALLEN, ROBERT E. ARMITAGE, EDWARD D. BAYLESS, HUBERT M. BEERMAN, MILAN C. BIGGS, CECIL W. BOHANNON, RICHARD E. BORTH, BRUCE W. BRADY, RICHARD D. BRAY, PARIS D. BROWN, NORMAN E. BROWN, WINSTON E. BYRNE, LEO L. COHEN, MANUEL L. COULAN, ROBERT W. CUTLER, MOREY DOZIER, JACK EPPERSON, ARNOLD P. FARESE, ROMEO S. FELBER, DOUGLAS H. FRANCIS, DAVID S. HERBST, GEORGE G. HODGE, ROBERT L. HOLLIS, WILLIAM T. HOYT, RICHARD C. JAVORSKY, CARL S. JOHNSON, CHARLES S. | T/SGT 2ND LT S/SGT 2ND LT 2ND LT 1ST LT CAPT 2ND LT S/SGT 2ND LT T/SGT T/SGT 2ND LT T/SGT SGT SGT S/SGT S/SGT 1ST LT 2ND LT S/SGT S/SGT 2ND LT CPL T/SGT S/SGT FLT O | KELLY, OREN H. LEONARD, JAMES G. LUDVIKSON, MAGNUS R. MARTIN, CHARLES E. MARTINSON, BERNARD D. MASLING, ROBERT W. MATSON, SIGURD M. MATTHEWS, MILES C. MCKERN, BRUCE A. MILLS, KENNETH H. MITCHELL, ALBERT E. O'HARA, MICHAEL P. PATTERSON, WILLIAM F. PEARCE, WILLIAM L. PERRY, LAWSON E. QUATTRENE, THOMAS J. REYNOLDS, WILLIAM D. SALING, BERT A. SCOTT, WINFIELD SMALLEY, JACK E. SMITH, CHARLES V. SPURRIER, JAMES H. ULLAND, ROBERT A. VENDETTA, RICHARD N. WAKLEY, KENNETH H. WILLIAMS, JAMES W. YENNER, THOMAS R. | SGT 1ST LT T/SGT 1ST LT 1ST LT 2ND LT MAJ 2ND LT 2ND LT 1ST LT 1ST LT S/SGT SGT 1ST LT 2ND LT SGT CPL T/SGT T/SGT 2ND LT 2ND LT 1ST LT 2ND LT 2ND LT 1ST LT T/SGT 1ST LT |
Commemorates:
People:
Units:
315th Troop Carrier Group
9th Air Force
US Army Air Corps
Wars:
WWII
Battles:
Meuse-Argonne Offensive
Other images :
