At the foot of the stairs leading up to the church, surrounded by small hedges decorated by flowers.
Plaque
Grey plaque with black writing in fairly good shape.
The plaque remembers 1LT Richard Noble and Pilot Officer Henri E. Dube of the Royal Canadian Air Force who were executed nearby after attempting to escape capture.
From Honor States.org:
On May 12, 1944 Aircraft B-17G (42-39941) "Lucky Lady" of the 731st Bomber Squadron, 452nd Bomber Group, was hit by Flak directly over Brux. With one engine out it dropped out of formation and fell behind. The pilot Lt Noble called for fighter protection which arrived in about five minutes.
When last seen "Lucky Lady" was straggling far behind the formation, almost at the border of France. They had one engine out but the plane was under control. He was told to hang on if possible until friendly occupied territory was reached and then bail out his crew. His last word was 'Roger, will try to make it'.
It crashed after the total crew bail out near Remouchamp. After Lt Noble bailed out and landed near Liege, Belgium, he was given help by Belgian Civilians and he joined one other Airmen from the Canadian RAF (Pilot Officer Henri Edouard Dube).
At the end of July, 1944 they left with a French Freedom Fighter helper. They were captured soon after and put on a train to be sent to a Prisoner of War Camp in Germany. They escaped off the train and arrived near Olizy, France by 8 August, 1944, where they were again captured by the Germans and later executed the same day.
Those responsible for their execution are not know. Pilot Officer Dube is buried in the nearby Olizy-Primat Communal Cemetery.
Source of photos: https://www.aerosteles.net
Richard Francis Noble
1st Lt,
O-453171
United
States Army Air Force
731st
Bombardment Squadron (H)
452nd
Bombardment Group (H), 8th Air Force
New
Concord, Ohio, USA
Born:
20 August, 1918
Died:
8 August, 1944
Shot
Down: 12 May, 1944
Pilot:
‘Lucky Lady’ - B-17G, SN: 42-39941
Buried:
American Ardennes Cemetery: D-4-19
8 August, 1944 : Two allied airmen trying to escape were captured by Germans in the trenches of the first world war near Olizy. After being held captive in the village church the entire day, they were taken to a promontory nicknamed “The Couch” and executed. The two men were lieutenant Noble (USA) and pilot Dube (Canada).
