B-24 Airmen remembered in memorial ahead of Memorial Day

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (WWLP) – Ahead of Memorial Day on Monday, western Massachusetts has begun to honor and remember our fallen heroes.

In Hadley this Friday evening, many came together to pay tribute to the 10 airmen killed in a B-24 crash on Mount Holyoke 80 years ago.

The B24 crashed during the airmen’s final training mission before they went to Europe and joined the 8th Air Force in the daylight bombing campaign against Germany. Friday night’s remembrance was organized by The South Hadley American Legion and Friends of the Holyoke Mountain Range. Those in attendance were presented with a military honor guard, rifle salute, and the sounding of Taps.

“It’s important that we remember these tragic anniversaries, to keep it in the public eye, to make people aware that freedom is not free. That’s our job as veterans and that’s why we’re here today,” said Post Commander of South Hadley American Legion Post 260, Brian Willette.

Willette told 22News, that the crew was in training before joining the war against Germany. He added that he and others are using ancestry to find family members of the 10 airmen, to let them know the lives of their loved ones continue to be honored and remembered.

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22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts in March 1953. Watch the 22News digital edition on weekdays at 4 p.m.

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