Just outside the church entrance in the church graveyard.

A rectangular polished black inscribed upright piece of marble. The marker 

The memorial serves as a cenotaph for four of the crew of the B-24 (42-51086) of the 706th Bomber Squadron, 446th Bomber Group, 8th Air Force, three of whom were killed by their captors and one who is still missing in action.

 On August 25, 1944 the aircraft was on a mission to bomb Rostock and was hit by AA fire. The pilot, 1Lt. John William Simon and his co-pilot stayed at the controls to keep the heavily damaged aircraft stable so the rest of the crew could parachute to safety. Co-pilot John Dzanaj bailed out after the crew, but 1Lt. Simon went down with the aircraft when it crashed and burned near Brusow, Germany; his remains were never recovered. Three members of the crew who successfully parachuted were captured on the ground were subsequently killed by by their captors and buried in the Steffenshagen churchyard (Some sources indiacte 4 crew were killed, but this can't be verified). The remaining survivors were imprisoned in Prisoner of War (POW) camps. Missing Aircradt Report (MACR) 8473.

The crew included:

1Lt. John William Simon (Pilot); Died in the crash; Missing in Action; memorialized at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten on the Tablets of the Missing.

2nd Lt. John Dzanaj (Co-pilot); Survived the bail-out; killed by captors.

2nd Lt. Colin Barkell (Navigator); Captured and subsequently killed by captors.

2nd Lt  John E. Drilling (Bombadier); Captured and held as a POW at Stalag Luft VII-A in Moosburg, Germany.

T/Sgt John F. Whitmore Jr (Top Turret Gunner); Captured and held as a POW.

S/Sgt. Garnett E. Saint Jr. (Tail Gunner)  Captured and killed by captors after bailing out, later reinterred at the Lorraine American Cemetery in France.

S/Sgt Charles F. Tyson (Waist Gunner) Captured and held as a POW.

S/Sgt Norman J. Wintermeyer (Waist Gunner); captured and held as a POW.

Sgt. Elmer Clarence Colt (Radio Operator) Survived and held as a POW.

Sgt. Joe Terry Corley (Ball Turret Gunner) Survived and held as a POW at Stalag Luft IV.

Sgt. Frederick W. Colligan (Phtographer) Survived and held as a POW at Stalag Luft IV.

Sources: https://americanarchive.iwm.org.uk

Find a Grave

The newer black marble has inscritions on four sides and reads:

John F. Simon

1st LT   New York

John B Dzanaj

2nd LT   Pennsylvania

Colin F. Barkell

2nd LT   Kansas

Garnett E. Saint Jr.

S/Sgt   Texas

An older cenotaph marks the graves, perhaps ,in the original location and reads:

Sühnezeichen
2 US-Piloten 25.8.1944

Translation:

Sign of Atonement
2 US Pilots August 25, 1944