, 16 tweets, 7 min read Read on Twitter
Such a lovely story and an emotional moment.
Here are the 10 US servicemembers killed that day, courtesy American Air Museum in Britain:
2/ It's really an incredible story. 22 Feb '44, the "Mi Amigo" B-17 Flying Fortress, desperate to land after being shot by Nazis over Denmark, makes it to Sheffield. The pilot realizes their best chance of survival is to crash land in a park -- only problem is the children there.
3/ Instead, the pilot -- Lt John Kriegshauser from St. Louis - steers the plane into the woods. It explodes and all 10 American servicemembers are killed, but not one civilian was hurt.

stltoday.com/news/local/met…
4/ Kriegshauser was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

St Louis Post-Dispatch 02 Feb 1945 newspapers.com/clip/28780059/…
5/ 2nd Lt Lyle Curtis was the co-pilot from Idaho. "The Story of Sheffield at War" by Margaret Drinkall says Curtis had just been told his wife was pregnant with the daughter he would never meet.

Post-Register article from 8 August 1948 newspapers.com/clip/28776283/…
6/ 2nd Lt Melchor Hernandez, from LA, born in El Paso, eldest of 6 kids, parents came from Mexico. Named the "Mi Amigo" plane. In The Story of Sheffield at War Hernandez is described as popular and an expert at jitterbugging.

newspapers.com/clip/28777072/…
7/ (An aside: I'm including obituary references from newspapers that aren't much more than lists of KIA of locals because that's what was commonplace back then given the sheer volume of sacrifice.)
8/ Staff Sgt Harry Estabrooks, top turret gunner and flight engineer from Mound Valley, Kansas, nicknamed "The Joker," the youngest on board at only 20

newspapers.com/clip/28777668/…
9/ Sgt Charles Tuttle, gunner from Kentucky

The Courier-Journal, 28 March 1944: newspapers.com/clip/28778473/…
10/ Staff Sgt Robert Mayfield, radio operator from Illinois

thejournal-news.net/news/local_new…
11/ Sgt Vito Ambrosio, gunner from Brooklyn, who had just been married and only spent one day with his wife, per Drinkall.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 28 March 1944 newspapers.com/clip/28778701/…
12/ Sgt George Williams, gunner from Faxon, Oklahoma

Daily Oklahoman, 28 March 1944:

newspapers.com/clip/28779187/
13/ Staff Sgt Maurice Robbins, gunner from Manor, Texas, an excellent shot per Drinkall.

Austin American-Statesman, 11 March 1944 newspapers.com/clip/28779385/…
14/ 2nd Lt John W. Humphrey, navigator from Wyoming, Illinois.
15/ Here's a wonderful thread from earlier this year by the BBC presenter @MrDanWalker who started the Twitter campaign under the hashtag #gettonyaflypast to honor the man who has been honoring these men --- cheers, Dan. What a lovely thing you did.

Missing some Tweet in this thread?
You can try to force a refresh.

Like this thread? Get email updates or save it to PDF!

Subscribe to Jake Tapper
Profile picture

Get real-time email alerts when new unrolls are available from this author!

This content may be removed anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!