The valiant actions of an American B-17 pilot saved the lives of his crew – but at the expense of his own. Anthony Moor details the tragic crash of an Eighth Air Force Flying Fortress
At the junction of the A2070 near the village of Hamstreet in Romney Marsh, Kent, stands a modest memorial commemorating the crash of a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress – and the death of its pilot, Lt William H Johnson. The US Stars and Stripes flag flies permanently at the site, which is visited by many people and looked after by a small group of locals. As with many other crash locations in the UK, each has its own unique story; this one began in the summer of 1943 at Harvard Air Base, Nebraska.
