"Many Photos" - Pensioner sees dream come true as flypast marks 1944 bomber crash

Thousands of people turned out for a pensioner to see his lifelong dream fulfilled today when British and American warplanes stage a flypast to salute the 75th anniversary of a crash which claimed the lives of 10 US airmen.

Crowds gathered at Endcliffe Park in Sheffield to watch planes including F-15E Strike Eagles from the USAF and an RAF Typhoon pay tribute to the crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress, nicknamed Mi Amigo.

Tony Foulds was eight years old in February 1944 when he witnessed the Mi Amigo crash and explode in the park as the pilot apparently tried to avoid him and his friends.

Mr Foulds, now 82, has spent decades dedicating himself to the memory of the ten airmen he never met, spending up to six days a week tending the memorial to them. 

Tony Foulds with BBC Breakfast presenter Steph McGovern at Endcliffe Park in Sheffield this morning ahead of the fly-past

Thousands of people have gathered in Sheffield today to watch planes pay tribute to the crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress

Mr Foulds waits at Endcliffe Park in Sheffield today ahead of seeing his lifelong dream of a flypast over his memorial fulfilled

Thousands of people gathered at Endcliffe Park ahead of the flypast this morning, with many wanting a picture with Mr Foulds

Planes including F-15E Strike Eagles from the USAF and an RAF Typhoon pay tribute to the crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress

The salute was arranged after BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker met Mr Foulds during a walk in the park and started a social media campaign.

And Mr Foulds told Charlie Stayt and Steph McGovern on BBC Breakfast today: 'Thank you very much, I can't believe it. Yorkshire people, this is what they're like.

'It started off as more or less nothing, and to see how many people have actually looked and taken note - it's for these lads (the ten airmen).

'Dan (Walker) wouldn't tell me nothing (about today's memorial). I have no idea what's happening. He's kept it away from me as usual.'

Speaking to the crowd, he said: 'Thank you very much for coming, it's lovely to see you - can't wait to get among you.'  

Tony Foulds, 82, is pictured on Wednesday ahead of the Mi Amigo memorial flypast over Endcliffe Park in Sheffield today

Mr Fouls has spent decades tending to the memorial dedicated to ten American airmen who died in a crash 75 years ago

The memorial is dedicated to 10 American airmen who died when their plane crashed in front of Mr Foulds in February 1944

Mr Foulds was eight years old in February 1944 when he witnessed the Mi Amigo crash and explode in the park

The pilot apparently tried to avoid Mr Foulds and his friends when he crashed in Sheffield in February 1944

Mr Foulds said he and the other children were in the park in 1944 because boys from two rival junior schools were fighting

The wreckage of the Mi Amigo at Endcliffe Park in Sheffield on February 22, 1944 following the fatal crash

The ten airmen who died, from back row: Robert Mayfield, Vito Ambrosio, Harry Estabrooks, George Williams, Charles Tuttle, Maurice Robbins Front Row: John Kriegshauser, Lyle Curtis, Melchor Hernandez, John Humphrey

Mr Foulds said he and the other children were in the park 75 years ago because boys from two rival junior schools were fighting.

How pilot saved Tony and his friends from death

Lieutenant John Kriegshauser, a 23-year-old pilot from St Louis, Missouri, was on his 15th mission on February 22, 1944 - and on board with him were nine young men from every corner of America.

The mission was a daring daylight raid on the Aalborg airfield in occupied Denmark, a key fighter base that protected Germany from Allied bombers. Mi Amigo was hit in the attack and limped back across the North Sea, trying to get to a base in Chelveston, Northamptonshire.

But the weather was poor. When the plane broke through the clouds looking for somewhere to land, it was over Sheffield, 80 miles north west.

Tony Foulds was eight years old and had gathered with other children for a schoolyard brawl at Endcliffe Park, an oasis of green surrounded by terraced houses. 

After five years of war, including German attacks on Sheffield's steel and armaments plants, the boys were accustomed to hearing planes. But the sound of this aircraft wasn't right - with one engine working, spitting oil and daylight visible through the tail.

The pilot circled when he saw the stretch of green, and waved his arms at the children. They waved back. Years later, Mr Foulds realised he was trying to get them to run out of the way.

The plane circled three times, the last time coming in so low it was just above the houses' chimneys. The pilot could have tried to land on the green, but he didn't. He turned his plane into the nearby woods, tried to rev up his only working engine and failed to gain altitude. The plane crashed and there were no survivors.

Mr Foulds has been wracked by guilt ever since, over why he could go on with his life, to have children and grandchildren, when the men on that plane were not.

He said the Mi Amigo approached low from the Nether Edge area of the city in an obviously bad way, with only one engine, and the crew would have seen the large expanse of grass as a possible landing place.

But when the pilot, Lieutenant John Kriegshauser, saw the children, he decided to circle.

Mr Foulds said that when the bomber came round again, the pilot was waving his arms as a warning but, as they did know what he meant, they just waved back.

He said the bomber crashed after it came round for a third time, just missing the roofs of nearby houses.

Mr Foulds said: 'Because we were still there, he had to make a decision - 'Shall I land on there and hope I don't hit these kids or try and get over the trees with this one engine?'.

'Of course, he tried to get over the trees. The engine failed and it dropped straight into the ground.'

Asked why he devotes his life to the men's memory, Mr Foulds said: 'Because they saved my life. I wouldn't have been here if it hadn't been for them.' He said: 'They're my family.'

Speaking last week about the memorial, the pensioner said: 'I can't put into words how I feel. I am going to be in tears all day, there's no doubt about that.' 

Depending on the weather, aircraft expected to take part include F-15E Strike Eagles from RAF Lakenheath; a KC-135 Stratotanker, a MC-130J Commando II and a CV-22 Osprey from RAF Mildenhall, as well as a Typhoon and a Dakota from RAF Coningsby.

Lieutenant Andrew Knighten, the weapons systems officer in one of the F-15E Strike Eagles taking part in the salute said on Wednesday: 'It's pretty humbling, honestly, just for everyone that's gone before us and for us to get to fly over and just honour them.'

A four-ship of F-15E Strike Eagles is expected to fly over Cambridge American Cemetery, where three of the Mi Amigo crew are interred, on the way back to base.

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News Photo Pensioner sees dream come true as flypast marks 1944 bomber crash
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