Monday, April 23, 2001

Story and photos by Ron Jensen, U.K. bureau

Airmen from RAF Lakenheath fold the American flag Saturday during a ceremony at Taverham, England, honoring an American bomber crew that crashed near the town 57 years ago

TAVERHAM, England — Betty Clemans remembers the day 57 years ago when she learned her brother had been killed.

"I was only 18 when he was killed," she said Saturday. "I was in the medical center in Kansas City, at the nurses’ dorm and the phone rang. When I heard my father’s voice, I knew it was bad news."

For nearly 57 years, the family knew only that Edward A. Cole of El Dorado, Kan., had died in a crash of his B-24 Liberator on April 21, 1944.

The circumstances remained a mystery.

"We had no idea. My father had tried to find out," said Clemans, 75, now living in Monument, Colo. "In 1994, I tried to find out. [My father] was 96 and he kept saying, ‘I wish I could find out.’"

So imagine Clemans’ surprise last fall when a telephone call told her exactly how the B-24 known as Pappy’s Chillun, flying from Shipdham airfield, crashed into a lake during bad weather, killing her brother, the bombardier and seven of the other nine crewmembers. The pilot and co-pilot survived. Unfortunately, her father passed away earlier and never learned how his son had died.

Clemans was on hand Saturday when a monument was officially dedicated to the crew of Pappy’s Chillun.

"It’s like I started reading a book years ago and never got through it," she said. "Now, years later, I finished it."

Betty Clemans clutches the flag presented to her Saturday in Taverham during a ceremony unveiling a monument dedicated to the crew of an American bomber that crashed near the town in World War II. Her brother, 2nd Lt. Edward A. Cole, was killed in the crash.

Jo Cottingham is the one most responsible for solving the mystery. She is an unlikely detective for such a case.

"I’m not interested in planes," she said before the ceremony Saturday.

But when she began working at Taver Mill Lake in 1993, she did develop an interest in the rumors that an American airplane had crashed in the lake during the war. She did research, wrote letters, asked old-timers for their memories.

Her breakthrough came two years ago when she had enough information to identify the name of the airplane and the crew. But that set her out on another quest — a proper way to remember those young men.

"Once I actually got the crew list, they became people," she said. "They weren’t ‘the crew’ anymore. They were people. They must have had families. They must have had wives or girlfriends. That’s the sentimentalist in me."

With help from several quarters, the families of the crew were contacted.

The pilot, Forrest C. Havens, chose not to participate. The only family member who ultimately made the trip was Clemans.

"It’s just overwhelming and I’m so thankful," she said. "I would never have known."

The monument is placed near the banks of the Wensum River. On the other side of the river, hidden by trees, is the lake that holds the remains of Pappy’s Chillun. Police divers have found bits and pieces of the aircraft, mostly ordnance, during training dives.

So Saturday, 57 years from the date of the crash, about 100 people, including a local school choir and the Taverham town band, gathered on a chilly, cloudy day to honor the aircraft’s crew.

A plaque dedicated to the crew of an American bomber that crashed in World War II was unveiled Saturday at Taverham, England.

The memorial contains the names: 2nd Lt. Forrest C. Havens, 2nd Lt. Leon L. Del Grande, 2nd Lt. James L. Zajicek, 2nd Lt. Edward A. Cole, Sgt. Leonard P. Lambert, Staff Sgt. George R. Houchins, Staff Sgt. Roger W. Edmonson, Sgt. Hartwell J. Higgins, Sgt. Hal N. Wood and Sgt. Russell G. Taylor.

The 30-minute ceremony included a prayer by Chaplain (Maj.) Paul Sherouse of RAF Lakenheath and three speeches.

Mike Mikoloski, a retired colonel who served in the area during World War II and is now president of the 44th Bomb Group Association, said: "We must not — and we will not — forget these valorous men who gave their lives so that we might live in freedom."

David Thompson, chairman of the Broadland District Council, said the sacrifice of men like these made possible the wonders of the modern age.

"In my humble opinion, and I’m sure everyone here shares this view, these lives were not in vain," he said.

And U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Mark Brotherton of the 48th Logistics Support Squadron at RAF Lakenheath and an instrumental player in the day’s event, called the memorial "a beacon of commitment, to remembering those who came before us, those who fought on, even when the odds were against them."

The Honor Guard from RAF Lakenheath carried the colors and fired the gun salute. And they also folded an American flag into the traditional tri-cornered field of blue with white stars. 2nd Lt. Scott Jones presented it to Clemans, who accepted the cloth treasure gingerly and pressed it tightly against her while tears came to her eyes.

Later she said of the moment, "It was almost like they were giving my brother back to me."

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