Sunday, May 16, 2010

Rongstad Crew Gets a Memorial

Official Army crash photos taken after the crash.
Crash site, Green Farm, Redlingfield, Suffolk. Many artifacts from this aircraft have been recovered from the site. (Photo by Rob Morris, June 2008)

Old barn across the lane from Green Farm. (Photo by Rob Morris, June 2008)


The farmhouse built on the spot of the detroyed original Green Farm. (Photo by Rob Morris)



Green Farm Accident Report, 95th Bomb Group Archives.





Crash report.




Lt. Rongstad's obituary in the Daily Interlake, Kalispell, Montana.




Green Farm burns after the B-17 crashed next to it.


B-17 tire.



Memorial (Photo by Richard Flagg)

Photo by Richard Flagg.

Three 95th vets pay homage to the downed crew. (Photo by Richard Flagg)

Photo by Richard Flagg.


Photo by Richard Flagg.




Veterans and family members and friends at the Dedication Ceremony. (Photo by Richard Flagg)


Earl Jostwick at the memorial. (Richard Flagg photo)



The Rongstad crew perished in a fiery crash after taking off from Horham on November 19, 1943. The pilot, fellow Montanan Kenneth Rongstad of Kalispell, banked his B-17 sharply after takeoff, the aircraft stalled, and it plunged to the ground, narrowly missing the Green Farm farmhouse, setting the farm house and another across the lane on fire. The men who possibly survived the initial crash were killed when the ordnance went off.

The photos of the memorial ceremony were taken by a friend of mine, professional photographer Richard Flagg, at Open Day yesterday, May 15, at Horham, Suffolk, England.

2 comments:

Richard Havers said...

Thanks for that Rob, and good to see they have been honoured.

Unknown said...

Very nicely presented - Herr. Writer and Deluxe Airman Dude. If you don't mind, I'm gonna add parts and pieces to our next Newsletter to get the word to those un-online (new word).

Thanx Rob, for ALL you do. - DRiX