B-17G # 42-3486 ‘Invictus’ Airmen Monument
Details:
On the west side of the road.
MonumentA tall, slender crash-pole memorial features a blue-and-white vertical post crowned with a stylized orange metal flame, symbolizing both the aircrafts fiery destruction and the enduring remembrance of the fallen crew. Affixed at mid-height is a rectangular white plaque inscribed in French, bearing the memorial inscription that identifies the aircraft and lists the names, ranks, and roles of the crew members. The plaque was updated in 2021.
Source of photos: www.bunkerinfo.nl
Monument Text:
Op 11 januari 1944 stortte hier de Amerikaanse Boeing B-17G 42-3486, een viermotorige bommenwerper, in het IJsselmeer. Het toestel was op de terugvlucht van het doel Halberstadt naar de thuisbasis Alconbury in Engeland. Het toestel behoorde tot de 482nd Bomb Group en was een Pathfinder, uitgerust met H2X-radar, om ook doelen onder een wolkendek te kunnen waarnemen. De bemanning bestond daarom uit elf man in plaats van de gebruikelijke tien. Acht van hen sneuvelden, drie werden krijgsgevangen gemaakt.
|
Piloot |
1st Lieutenant |
James J. Maginnis |
26 jaar |
|
Co-piloot |
1st Lieutenant |
Roy H. Peterson |
23 jaar |
|
Navigator |
1st Lieutenant |
Clarence E. Blevins |
22 jaar |
|
Radar-navigator |
Flight Officer |
John J. O'Brien |
26 jaar |
|
Bommenrichter |
1st Lieutenant |
George C. Wylie |
21 jaar |
|
Radiotelegrafist |
Staff Sergeant |
Raymond Rajala |
25 jaar |
|
Rugkoepelschutter |
Technical Sergeant |
William A. Glenn |
30 jaar |
|
Buikkoepelschutter |
Staff Sergeant |
Enian C. Mills |
22 jaar |
|
Linkerzijluikschutter |
Staff Sergeant |
Joseph P. Keane |
20 jaar |
|
Rechterzijluikschutter |
Staff Sergeant |
Angelo J. Riccardi |
21 jaar |
|
Staartschutter |
Sergeant |
Harry C. Sutton |
19 jaar |
|
Rajala, Glenn en Mills wisten de B-17 per parachute te verlaten. Na hun verblijf, grotendeels in krijgsgevangenenkamp Stalag Luft IV bij Gross-Tychow keerden zij naar Amerika terug. De stoffelijke resten van zeven andere bemanningsleden zijn in de maanden na het ongeluk opgevist of aangespoeld en begraven. |
Pas bij de berging van wrakstukken in 1969 zijn de stoffelijke resten van Peterson gevonden en kon ook hij worden begraven. Maginnis, Peterson en Blevins zijn nu in Amerika begraven, de andere vijf rusten op de Amerikaanse militaire begraafplaats in de Ardennen (België). |
English translation:
On January 11, 1944, the American Boeing B-17G 42-3486, a four-engine bomber, crashed here in the IJsselmeer. The aircraft was returning from a mission over Halberstadt to its home base at Alconbury in England. It belonged to the 482nd Bomb Group and was a Pathfinder, equipped with H2X radar to locate targets even under cloud cover. For this reason, the crew consisted of eleven men instead of the usual ten. Eight of them were killed, and three were taken prisoner of war.
|
Pilot |
1st Lieutenant |
James J. Maginnis |
26 years |
|
Co-pilot |
1st Lieutenant |
Roy H. Peterson |
23 years |
|
Navigator |
1st Lieutenant |
Clarence E. Blevins |
22 years |
|
Radar Navigator |
Flight Officer |
John J. O'Brien |
26 years |
|
Bombardier |
1st Lieutenant |
George C. Wylie |
21 years |
|
Radio Operator |
Staff Sergeant |
Raymond Rajala |
25 years |
|
Top Turret Gunner |
Technical Sergeant |
William A. Glenn |
30 years |
|
Ball Turret Gunner |
Staff Sergeant |
Enian C. Mills |
22 years |
|
Left Waist Gunner |
Staff Sergeant |
Joseph P. Keane |
20 years |
|
Right Waist Gunner |
Staff Sergeant |
Angelo J. Riccardi |
21 years |
|
Tail Gunner |
Sergeant |
Harry C. Sutton |
19 years |
|
|
|
|
|
Rajala, Glenn, and Mills were able to escape from the B-17 by parachute. After spending time, primarily at the prisoner-of-war camp Stalag Luft IV near Gross-Tychow, they eventually returned to America. The remains of seven other crew members were recovered from the water or washed ashore in the months following the crash and were buried. |
It was not until wreckage recovery operations in 1969 that Petersons remains were found, allowing him to be laid to rest as well. Maginnis, Peterson, and Blevins are now buried in the United States, while the other five rest at the American military cemetery in the Ardennes (Belgium). |
