This year, at a uniquely restored major WWII training station, a dedication ceremony will give the first-ever public recognition to a category of heroes who paid the ultimate price in US military service. They were lost before they could even get to combat. Join the 467th Bomb Group Association and the Historic Wendover Air Field Foundation in recognizing all US Arm Force Personnel who were lost in training accidents or in accidents on their way overseas.
- A veteran organization through its research was not able to find a single extant memorial to the 15,500 US Army Airforce men who died in training accidents.
- This was fully 4% of the total WS WWII fatalities (404,000).
- This loss is more than twice the 7,000 combat losses of the entire Second Air Division.
- These at home fatalities equaled more than half of the 8th AF combat losses of 26,000.
- Most of those lost in training died before even being assigned to a bomber fighter group, so have never been noted by any veteran or commemoration associations.
- Families of those who died mourned and honored their sons alone, rarely connecting with families of his comrades or even crewmates.
- These heroes, at the time of their death, were typically less publicly lauded and recognized than those lost in combat.
Public recognition has been planned. One group will be honoring the 56 men lost in training and in transit to England at this historic training field where they completed training in the continental United States.
This first-ever long overdue recognition will note the losses of other heavy bomber groups at Wendover Air Field. The dedication ceremony is specifically open to the relatives of all these men, so that they may finally have an important element of closure and finally feel the warm embrace of grateful others. It is also open to other veteran- or veteran-honoring organizations to commemorate these heroes as we have honored and recognized American WWII heroes that fell in combat, and any who are moved to publicly give name and face to the 15,500.
