On the side of a field.

Marker
A simple, square, brown plaque affixed on a chamfered, thick, rectangular, wooden block. The plaque is inscribed in English in white lettering.

On the 18th of August 1944, the crew was on their way home from a bombing mission to an aero-engine factory at Woippy in France. The Liberator had sustained battle damage and was low on fuel. Pilot, Lt. Roger Leister radioed in when he was a few minutes from their Rackheath base requesting a priority emergency landing. There was good reason to believe that he could not negotiate a safe landing. It was suggested that he head for the special emergency landing strip at Manston but figuring that he was closer to Rackheath so he continued in that direction. On his landing approach, all four engines locked, descending at a rapid rate he barely cleared the village of Kirby Bedon, and belly-landed in a field just beyond, hitting an embankment in the process which caused the top turret to cave in. The crash destroyed the plane and killed four of the crew. The others, including Leister, sustained varying degrees of injuries.

The crew members who died were:
Navigator: 2Lt., William M SHERRILL
Engineer: T/Sgt., Darlton W PONTIUS
Radio Op: T/Sgt., George LIFSCHITZ
Gunner: S/Sgt., Philip A SNYDER

The following survived:
Pilot: 1Lt., Roger LEISTER
2nd Pilot: 1Lt., Frank BEATTY
Co-pilot: 1Lt., Raymond SUCHIU
Bombardier: 1Lt., Wesley WILLIAMS
Tail Gunner: S/Sgt., Thomas FLOYD
Flight Engineer: T/Sgt., Duane HEATH
B.T. Gunner: S/Sgt., Andrew MAIORINO
T.T. Gunner: S/Sgt., George ROBB

Villagers who witnessed the final seconds of the flight said that Leister had heroically avoided the village and wanted to show their appreciation. Some weeks later the vicar at Kirby Bedon contacted the chaplain at Rackheath and arranged to go there. He told him that the villagers had collected a sum of money and would like the names of the deceased crewmen so that they could be remembered on a memorial plaque in St. Andrew's church, where it remains to this day. There is also another memorial located in the village church commemorating the crash and the four airmen who were killed.

Near this spot on

18th August 1944

An American

Liberator Bomber

"Broad and High"

tragically crashed whilst

returning from active service

over Germany

A Memorial to the members

of the crew who lost their lives

is in Kirby Bedon Church