WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.379 Imagine for a second that you're taking a walk 00:00:03.379 --> 00:00:06.259 through a peaceful everyday city park. Just a 00:00:06.259 --> 00:00:08.000 normal afternoon. Right, just a normal walk. 00:00:08.140 --> 00:00:10.060 It's the middle of winter, so, you know, the 00:00:10.060 --> 00:00:13.300 air is biting, the ground is hard, and the trees 00:00:13.300 --> 00:00:15.279 are completely bare. Yeah, you're just strolling 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:17.199 along, maybe holding a cup of coffee. Exactly. 00:00:17.539 --> 00:00:20.359 And you look up at the tree line, and you notice 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:22.960 something, well, something really strange. The 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:25.559 tops of some of the older trees, right there 00:00:25.559 --> 00:00:28.489 in this quiet suburban park, are permanently 00:00:28.489 --> 00:00:32.109 scarred they have these distinct dark burn marks 00:00:32.109 --> 00:00:34.950 right on their uppermost branches and you probably 00:00:34.950 --> 00:00:37.640 wonder What in the world happened here? You really 00:00:37.640 --> 00:00:40.060 would. And it's exactly that kind of physical 00:00:40.060 --> 00:00:42.759 scar on the landscape that brings us to our focus 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:45.640 today. It is. We are taking a deep dive into 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:48.000 the source material surrounding the Biomigo Memorial. 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:51.140 We're starting with its Wikipedia article and 00:00:51.140 --> 00:00:54.060 branching out into the wider historical record. 00:00:54.280 --> 00:00:56.719 So our mission for this deep dive is to explore 00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:59.359 the intersection of a tragic historical event 00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:02.619 and the, I guess you'd call it the enduring, 00:01:02.740 --> 00:01:05.640 almost stubborn power of community memory. That's 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:07.439 a great way to put it. We're going to unpack 00:01:07.439 --> 00:01:10.040 not just what happened on one fateful afternoon 00:01:10.040 --> 00:01:14.159 in 1944, but how ordinary people spanning multiple 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:17.019 generations have kept that memory alive right 00:01:17.019 --> 00:01:19.159 up to the present day. And by the time we finish 00:01:19.159 --> 00:01:21.319 this discussion, I promise it will completely 00:01:21.319 --> 00:01:23.879 change how you look at the local monuments, the 00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:26.400 bronze plaques, and the parks in your own neighborhood. 00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:28.739 Oh, absolutely. You might walk past them every 00:01:28.739 --> 00:01:30.920 single day, but this story reveals the invisible 00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:33.640 layers of history right under our feet. So let's 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:35.719 just unpack this. We have to go back to February 00:01:35.719 --> 00:01:39.480 22nd, 1944. Right. Encliff Park in Sheffield, 00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:42.260 England. It's around 5 .0 in the evening. The 00:01:42.260 --> 00:01:45.079 weather is grim, low clouds, incredibly poor 00:01:45.079 --> 00:01:47.060 visibility. Classic winter in England. Yeah, 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:49.819 exactly. And suddenly, dropping out of that overcast 00:01:49.819 --> 00:01:53.120 sky is a heavily damaged United States Army Air 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:56.760 Force's B -17 flying fortress. To really understand... 00:01:56.780 --> 00:01:59.780 the peril of that exact moment. You have to picture 00:01:59.780 --> 00:02:02.760 what daylight bombing raids in 1944 actually 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:05.299 entailed. They were brutal. They really were. 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:08.000 The aircraft was named Mi Amigo. It belonged 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:11.520 to the 364th Bomber Squadron based out of Shelveston 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:13.919 in Northamptonshire. And they were returning 00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:16.900 from a pretty punishing bombing run over Alborg, 00:02:16.939 --> 00:02:19.280 Denmark, right? Yes. And during that mission, 00:02:19.400 --> 00:02:22.379 doing a daylight run meant they were highly visible 00:02:22.379 --> 00:02:25.389 to enemy fighter aircraft. The Minamigo engaged 00:02:25.389 --> 00:02:27.750 with those fighters and sustained some critical 00:02:27.750 --> 00:02:30.110 damage. So by the time they limped all the way 00:02:30.110 --> 00:02:32.110 back across the North Sea and reached the airspace 00:02:32.110 --> 00:02:35.050 over Sheffield Book? Their engines were faltering, 00:02:35.189 --> 00:02:38.169 they were losing altitude fast, and they emerged 00:02:38.169 --> 00:02:40.569 from those low clouds directly over a populated 00:02:40.569 --> 00:02:42.949 area. And they crashed right there in Endcliffe 00:02:42.949 --> 00:02:45.590 Park. Yeah. The human toll was absolute. The 00:02:45.590 --> 00:02:48.210 entire crew perished that afternoon. It's devastating. 00:02:48.469 --> 00:02:50.949 It is. And because this deep dive is fundamentally 00:02:50.949 --> 00:02:53.849 about memory, it feels only right that we take 00:02:53.849 --> 00:02:56.610 our time today to actually read the names and 00:02:56.610 --> 00:02:58.990 the roles of the 10 men who are on board the 00:02:58.990 --> 00:03:01.150 Mi Amigo. I agree completely. It wasn't just 00:03:01.150 --> 00:03:04.590 a machine. It was a tightly knit team where every 00:03:04.590 --> 00:03:07.189 single person relied on the others for survival. 00:03:07.409 --> 00:03:09.750 Exactly. So let's start with the command. Right. 00:03:09.789 --> 00:03:12.409 The pilot was... First Lieutenant John Kriegshauser. 00:03:12.469 --> 00:03:14.789 And next to him was his co -pilot, Second Lieutenant 00:03:14.789 --> 00:03:17.750 Lyle J. Curtis. The responsibility on their shoulders 00:03:17.750 --> 00:03:19.710 in those final moments would have been immense, 00:03:19.889 --> 00:03:22.810 trying to maneuver a massive, failing bomber 00:03:22.810 --> 00:03:25.490 away from the surrounding houses. And the kids 00:03:25.490 --> 00:03:28.629 playing in the park below. Yeah, exactly. Navigating 00:03:28.629 --> 00:03:31.629 the B -17 was Second Lieutenant John W. Humphrey. 00:03:31.960 --> 00:03:34.360 And the bombardier was 2nd Lieutenant Melchor 00:03:34.360 --> 00:03:37.199 Hernandez. Then you have the enlisted crew, the 00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:40.080 men who basically kept the plane flying, communicating, 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:43.919 and defended it from enemy fire in an unpressurized, 00:03:43.939 --> 00:03:46.800 freezing cabin. Right. The flight engineer and 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:49.180 top turret gunner was Staff Sergeant Harry W. 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:52.039 Estabrooks. The radio operator, who also served 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:54.360 as the logkeeper and photographer, was Staff 00:03:54.360 --> 00:03:56.539 Sergeant Robert E. Mayfield. And down in the 00:03:56.539 --> 00:03:59.439 belly of the plane, the ball turret gunner was 00:03:59.439 --> 00:04:02.120 Sergeant Charles H. Tuttle. If you aren't familiar 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:04.620 with a World War II ball turret, it was essentially 00:04:04.620 --> 00:04:07.659 a tiny glass sphere suspended underneath the 00:04:07.659 --> 00:04:10.000 fuselage of the bomber. It's terrifying to even 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:12.740 think about. It really is. The gunner would sit 00:04:12.740 --> 00:04:15.639 curled up in that glass bubble for hours, entirely 00:04:15.639 --> 00:04:18.540 exposed, just defending the underside of the 00:04:18.540 --> 00:04:20.759 aircraft. Defending the sides of the fortress 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:23.259 were the two waist gunners, Technical Sergeant 00:04:23.259 --> 00:04:26.899 George M. Williams and Sergeant Vito R. Ambrosio. 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:29.639 And finally... Situated at the very back of the 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:32.480 aircraft, the tail gunner was Sergeant Maurice 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:36.740 D. Robbins. Ten young men, an entire crew operating 00:04:36.740 --> 00:04:39.990 in extreme conditions. lost in a single moment. 00:04:40.170 --> 00:04:43.310 It's incredibly sobering when you visualize those 00:04:43.310 --> 00:04:45.889 specific roles. And it's really important to 00:04:45.889 --> 00:04:48.649 note that pilot John Kriegshauser actually received 00:04:48.649 --> 00:04:51.389 a posthumous distinguished flying cross. He did, 00:04:51.430 --> 00:04:53.649 yes. Historical consensus is that in those final 00:04:53.649 --> 00:04:57.029 seconds, he deliberately steered the doomed aircraft 00:04:57.029 --> 00:04:59.470 away from the nearby homes and the people in 00:04:59.470 --> 00:05:01.810 Enclave Park. Sacrificing their minimal chances 00:05:01.810 --> 00:05:04.370 of a safe crash landing just to save the civilians 00:05:04.370 --> 00:05:07.209 on the ground. Exactly. And that crash fundamentally 00:05:07.209 --> 00:05:09.370 altered the physical environment of Endcliffe 00:05:09.370 --> 00:05:11.949 Park. Without a doubt, the impact of a B -17 00:05:11.949 --> 00:05:14.269 flying fortress, which is a massive piece of 00:05:14.269 --> 00:05:16.750 machinery weighing tens of thousands of pounds, 00:05:16.910 --> 00:05:19.990 is devastating. Yeah, 12 mature trees had to 00:05:19.990 --> 00:05:22.230 be cut down as a direct result of the wreckage 00:05:22.230 --> 00:05:24.709 and the subsequent fire. And that brings us back 00:05:24.709 --> 00:05:26.750 to the burn marks you can still see in the winter. 00:05:26.870 --> 00:05:29.709 Right. If you stand on nearby Rustlings Road 00:05:29.709 --> 00:05:32.129 or Ecclesall Road today and look toward the hillside 00:05:32.129 --> 00:05:35.350 behind the park's cafe, you can still see a distinct 00:05:35.350 --> 00:05:38.310 unnatural dip in the tree line. Right where those 00:05:38.310 --> 00:05:40.930 12 trees used to stand. Yes. And the trees that 00:05:40.930 --> 00:05:43.870 did survive the inferno still bear those dark 00:05:43.870 --> 00:05:46.689 burn marks on their highest grounds. It's a literal 00:05:46.689 --> 00:05:49.810 physical scar on the landscape. A testament to 00:05:49.810 --> 00:05:53.350 February 22nd, 1944. Just hiding right in plain 00:05:53.350 --> 00:05:56.459 sight. So you have this horrific event, this 00:05:56.459 --> 00:05:59.139 massive scar on a local park in England, and 00:05:59.139 --> 00:06:01.680 10 American families thousands of miles away 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:04.019 who have lost their sons, brothers, and husbands. 00:06:04.339 --> 00:06:07.199 But grief doesn't stay raw forever. No, it doesn't. 00:06:07.639 --> 00:06:09.600 Eventually, a community has to figure out how 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:12.100 to weave a tragedy into its everyday landscape. 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:15.000 And that brings us forward 25 years. To November 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:17.879 30th, 1969. Right. This is when the official 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:20.180 memorial is dedicated. It's a fascinating transition 00:06:20.180 --> 00:06:23.560 from the immediacy of wartime tragedy to formalized 00:06:23.560 --> 00:06:27.759 remembrance. On that day in 1969, the city planted 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:31.139 a grove of 10 scarlet oak trees. Quercus coccinea 00:06:31.139 --> 00:06:34.220 for the botany fans out there. Yes. These were 00:06:34.220 --> 00:06:36.819 planted explicitly to replace the 12 trees that 00:06:36.819 --> 00:06:39.319 were destroyed in the crash, but they specifically 00:06:39.319 --> 00:06:42.160 planted 10 to represent the 10 crew members. 00:06:42.360 --> 00:06:45.399 I love that detail. And the choice of scarlet 00:06:45.399 --> 00:06:48.279 oaks is also quite poignant. They're known for 00:06:48.279 --> 00:06:51.399 turning a brilliant deep red in the autumn. serving 00:06:51.399 --> 00:06:54.079 as a very visible living memorial that cycles 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:57.000 with the seasons. A living memorial. That's such 00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:59.480 a great concept. And along with the trees, they 00:06:59.480 --> 00:07:02.139 unveiled a large boulder with two bronze plaques 00:07:02.139 --> 00:07:04.600 attached to it. The inscriptions on those plaques 00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:06.639 tell us a lot about how the community chose to 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:10.160 frame this event. The upper plaque was erected 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:12.339 by the Sheffield Royal Air Forces Association. 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:15.600 It states simply that it is in memory of the 00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:18.279 10 crew of the USAA bomber which crashed in the 00:07:18.279 --> 00:07:21.459 park. But it also includes the famous Latin motto 00:07:21.459 --> 00:07:24.959 of the Royal Air Force. Per Ardua ad Astra. Exactly. 00:07:24.980 --> 00:07:27.579 Through adversity to the stars. That carries 00:07:27.579 --> 00:07:29.680 so much weight when you think about what those 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:32.759 men went through. It really does. But then on 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:35.120 the lower plaque, which lists the names and roles 00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:38.060 of all 10 crew members we just read, there's 00:07:38.060 --> 00:07:41.040 this remarkably human detail. Oh, this part always 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:43.980 gets me. The pilot, Lieutenant Kriegshauser, 00:07:44.139 --> 00:07:46.620 his name is actually misspelled on the bronze 00:07:46.620 --> 00:07:49.379 plaque. Yeah. When we think about monuments, 00:07:49.620 --> 00:07:51.500 we often think of perfection, right? Something 00:07:51.500 --> 00:07:55.519 carved in stone by an infallible authority. Right. 00:07:55.800 --> 00:07:58.720 But that small spelling error serves as a reminder 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:01.540 that this memorial was put together by ordinary, 00:08:01.800 --> 00:08:04.879 fallible people trying their absolute best to 00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:07.279 honor 10 young men from another country whom 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:09.529 they had never even met. That's a really beautiful 00:08:09.529 --> 00:08:11.569 way to look at it. And the dedication ceremony 00:08:11.569 --> 00:08:14.610 itself in 1969 really reflected that cross -cultural 00:08:14.610 --> 00:08:17.730 bond. You had the Lord Mayor Sheffield, Alderman 00:08:17.730 --> 00:08:20.009 Daniel O 'Neill, and the Bishop of Sheffield, 00:08:20.069 --> 00:08:22.490 John Taylor, standing side by side with Major 00:08:22.490 --> 00:08:24.870 General John Bell. Who was the commander of the 00:08:24.870 --> 00:08:26.850 3rd U .S. Air Force in Britain at the time. Right. 00:08:27.050 --> 00:08:30.009 It symbolized a bond that was forged in the desperation 00:08:30.009 --> 00:08:32.809 of war, but deliberately maintained in peacetime. 00:08:33.169 --> 00:08:35.629 But here's the thing. The monument is built. 00:08:36.190 --> 00:08:40.000 The dignitaries go home. But monuments only survive 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:42.919 if people actively care for them. Yeah, left 00:08:42.919 --> 00:08:45.980 alone, bronze tarnishes, stone gathers moss, 00:08:46.279 --> 00:08:49.860 and paths just become overgrown. Exactly. For 00:08:49.860 --> 00:08:53.220 decades after that 1969 dedication, the Mi Amigo 00:08:53.220 --> 00:08:55.879 Memorial was cared for through a patchwork of 00:08:55.879 --> 00:08:58.399 community stewardship. Local military cadets 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:00.440 would come out to clear the brush. The Sheffield 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:02.820 Parks Department did their part. And a community 00:09:02.820 --> 00:09:05.059 group called the Friends of Porter Valley kept 00:09:05.059 --> 00:09:07.679 an eye on it. It wasn't one central, heavily 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:10.500 funded authority dictating the upkeep. It was 00:09:10.500 --> 00:09:12.919 simply the neighborhood refusing to let the site 00:09:12.919 --> 00:09:16.289 fade away. Which brings us to 2018 and a local 00:09:16.289 --> 00:09:18.629 resident named Tony Fultz. This is one of the 00:09:18.629 --> 00:09:20.330 most compelling parts of the source material. 00:09:20.570 --> 00:09:23.029 It really is. Tony simply takes over the day 00:09:23.029 --> 00:09:24.950 -to -day maintenance of the memorial. He's not 00:09:24.950 --> 00:09:26.710 officially ordered to do it by the city council. 00:09:26.870 --> 00:09:29.269 He just takes it upon himself. You can just picture 00:09:29.269 --> 00:09:31.490 him out there sweeping the path. clearing away 00:09:31.490 --> 00:09:33.970 the wet autumn leaves and watering the flowers 00:09:33.970 --> 00:09:36.129 in the memorial garden. And those flowers aren't 00:09:36.129 --> 00:09:38.549 funded by a government grant either. No, they 00:09:38.549 --> 00:09:40.889 are regularly donated by local garden centers 00:09:40.889 --> 00:09:43.169 and well -wishers who see what Tony is doing 00:09:43.169 --> 00:09:45.750 and just want to contribute. It's a singular, 00:09:45.850 --> 00:09:48.889 quiet devotion. When a citizen takes on the burden 00:09:48.889 --> 00:09:51.190 of memory like that, it transforms a cold piece 00:09:51.190 --> 00:09:53.750 of stone and bronze into a truly active site 00:09:53.750 --> 00:09:56.450 of remembrance. Every time Tony sweeps those 00:09:56.450 --> 00:09:59.210 steps, he is reinforcing that unspoken promise 00:09:59.210 --> 00:10:01.570 the community made. It is the ultimate grassroots 00:10:01.570 --> 00:10:04.950 effort. But then this quiet, everyday routine 00:10:04.950 --> 00:10:08.009 in a Sheffield park absolutely explodes onto 00:10:08.009 --> 00:10:10.110 the global stage. It does. The turning point 00:10:10.110 --> 00:10:13.639 comes in January 2019. Dan Walker, a presenter 00:10:13.639 --> 00:10:15.860 for BBC Breakfast, happens to be walking his 00:10:15.860 --> 00:10:18.379 dog in Endcliffe Park and strikes up a conversation 00:10:18.379 --> 00:10:20.980 with Tony Folds. And during their chat, Tony 00:10:20.980 --> 00:10:23.440 shares a dream he has held on to for a long time. 00:10:23.580 --> 00:10:26.080 He wants a commemorative fly past over the memorial 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:28.539 for the upcoming 75th anniversary of the crash. 00:10:28.820 --> 00:10:31.220 Dan Walker uses his considerable platform and 00:10:31.220 --> 00:10:34.480 suddenly Tony's quiet local dream becomes a massive 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:37.509 viral mission. Which leads us to February 22nd, 00:10:37.549 --> 00:10:41.129 2019, exactly 75 years to the day after the Mi 00:10:41.129 --> 00:10:43.950 Amigo fell from the sky. The response from both 00:10:43.950 --> 00:10:46.230 the United States and the United Kingdom militaries 00:10:46.230 --> 00:10:49.190 was staggering. It was a meticulously coordinated 00:10:49.190 --> 00:10:53.070 international operation. At exactly 8 .45 in 00:10:53.070 --> 00:10:55.950 the morning, 10 aircraft flew over Endcliffe 00:10:55.950 --> 00:10:58.190 Park. To really appreciate the scale of this 00:10:58.190 --> 00:11:00.090 tribute, we should detail the aircraft involved 00:11:00.090 --> 00:11:02.830 because it spanned generations of aviation history. 00:11:03.090 --> 00:11:05.740 Let's do it. Leading the way was a historic aircraft, 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:08.700 a Dakota from the RAF's Battle of Britain memorial 00:11:08.700 --> 00:11:12.059 flight flying out of RAF Coningsby. That would 00:11:12.059 --> 00:11:14.799 have been the slow, rumbling propeller sound 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:18.200 echoing the era of the B -17 itself. Right. Following 00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:20.259 the Dakota were two aircraft from the United 00:11:20.259 --> 00:11:23.820 States Air Force's 352nd Special Operations Wing 00:11:23.820 --> 00:11:27.700 based at RAF Mildenhall. An MC -130J Commando 00:11:27.700 --> 00:11:31.740 II and a CV -22 Osprey. And the Osprey uses that 00:11:31.740 --> 00:11:34.279 incredible tiltrotor technology to fly like an 00:11:34.279 --> 00:11:36.759 airplane but hover like a helicopter. Then came 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:40.169 the heavy metal. A KC -135 Stratotanker from 00:11:40.169 --> 00:11:43.370 the USAS 100th Air Refueling Wing, also out of 00:11:43.370 --> 00:11:45.409 Mildenhall. If you aren't familiar with a Stratotanker, 00:11:45.409 --> 00:11:47.409 it's essentially a massive flying gas station 00:11:47.409 --> 00:11:50.769 used to refuel other jets in midair. Seeing an 00:11:50.769 --> 00:11:53.450 aircraft of that sheer size flying low over a 00:11:53.450 --> 00:11:56.169 suburban park provides such a stark contrast 00:11:56.169 --> 00:11:58.970 to the World War II era planes that preceded 00:11:58.970 --> 00:12:01.539 it. Definitely. Representing the modern Royal 00:12:01.539 --> 00:12:04.720 Air Force were two Typhoon fighter jets from 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:07.559 41 Squadron. If you've ever heard a modern fighter 00:12:07.559 --> 00:12:10.379 jet fly over your house, you know it literally 00:12:10.379 --> 00:12:13.029 shakes your bones with the noise. Oh, yeah. And 00:12:13.029 --> 00:12:15.370 finally, the incredible culmination of the fly 00:12:15.370 --> 00:12:19.230 -past -four F -15E Strike Eagles from the USAF 00:12:19.230 --> 00:12:22.429 48th Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath. And 00:12:22.429 --> 00:12:24.870 the F -15s performed a traditional missing man 00:12:24.870 --> 00:12:26.929 formation. For those who might not know, a missing 00:12:26.929 --> 00:12:29.830 man formation is an aerial salute where a group 00:12:29.830 --> 00:12:32.129 of aircraft fly in a V -shape. Right, and as 00:12:32.129 --> 00:12:34.470 they approach the memorial site, one jet abruptly 00:12:34.470 --> 00:12:36.590 pulls away from the group and climbs steeply 00:12:36.590 --> 00:12:39.070 into the sky. Leaving a visible void in the formation 00:12:39.070 --> 00:12:41.539 to symbolize the fallen. And in an incredibly 00:12:41.539 --> 00:12:44.139 touching detail, the names of all 10 of the Mi 00:12:44.139 --> 00:12:46.080 Amigo crew members were actually painted onto 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:49.019 the sides of those F -15 fighter jets. Imagine 00:12:49.019 --> 00:12:51.240 standing in the park where the B -17 crashed, 00:12:51.679 --> 00:12:53.960 feeling the deafening roar of those engines, 00:12:54.019 --> 00:12:57.179 and knowing that 75 years later, the names of 00:12:57.179 --> 00:13:00.159 those 10 young men are flying overhead on supersonic 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:03.519 jets. Gives you chills. And the tribute didn't 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:06.019 end over Shefgate either. No. After clearing 00:13:06.019 --> 00:13:08.720 the park, the F -15s continued their flight path 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:11.399 southward to perform a second flight past at 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:13.419 the American Cemetery and Memorial in Cambridge. 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:16.220 Three of the Mi Amigo crew are permanently buried 00:13:16.220 --> 00:13:18.320 there, while the other seven were ultimately 00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:20.919 repatriated to the United States after the war. 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:23.480 It was a massive viral moment that morning. Think 00:13:23.480 --> 00:13:26.250 about the contrast. From Tony sweeping the path 00:13:26.250 --> 00:13:29.129 alone in the quiet mist to thousands of members 00:13:29.129 --> 00:13:31.210 of the public packed shoulder to shoulder in 00:13:31.210 --> 00:13:33.929 the park looking up at the sky. BBC Breakfast 00:13:33.929 --> 00:13:36.370 was broadcasting live to the nation. They even 00:13:36.370 --> 00:13:38.389 had family members of Lieutenant Kriegshauser 00:13:38.389 --> 00:13:40.470 and Lieutenant Hernandez as featured guests on 00:13:40.470 --> 00:13:43.190 the broadcast. All over Twitter, hashtags like 00:13:43.190 --> 00:13:46.309 hashtag remember the 10, hashtag my amigo 75th 00:13:46.309 --> 00:13:48.750 and hashtag Sheffield Fly Pass were trending 00:13:48.750 --> 00:13:51.919 worldwide. It proves that a highly localized 00:13:51.919 --> 00:13:54.919 story, when it touches on universal themes of 00:13:54.919 --> 00:13:57.960 sacrifice, youth and gratitude, can resonate 00:13:57.960 --> 00:14:00.960 globally. Absolutely. But the story of the Mi 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:03.960 Amiga Memorial doesn't freeze in that viral moment 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:06.980 in 2019. The physical reality of the memorial 00:14:06.980 --> 00:14:09.940 site requires continuous, practical evolution. 00:14:10.360 --> 00:14:12.419 Because an event trending on social media is 00:14:12.419 --> 00:14:15.120 wonderful for awareness, but a hashtag doesn't 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:17.519 stop the winter rain from eroding the soil around 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:20.019 the bronze plaques. Exactly. So fast forward 00:14:20.019 --> 00:14:23.159 to the summer of 2023. The Sheffield branch of 00:14:23.159 --> 00:14:26.779 the Royal Air Forces Association, or RAFA, recognized 00:14:26.779 --> 00:14:29.279 that the site needed serious structural work. 00:14:29.419 --> 00:14:31.679 They launched an appeal for funds to refurbish 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:34.500 the memorial, setting up a GoFundMe page. And 00:14:34.500 --> 00:14:36.399 within just a few months, the local community 00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:38.779 and well -wishers quickly raised their target 00:14:38.779 --> 00:14:41.610 of over 16 ,000 pounds. That is a significant 00:14:41.610 --> 00:14:44.169 amount of money for a local community to crowdsource 00:14:44.169 --> 00:14:46.250 for a single neighborhood memorial. It really 00:14:46.250 --> 00:14:48.210 is. So what did they actually do with those funds? 00:14:48.409 --> 00:14:52.409 Between December 2023 and January 2024, our AFA 00:14:52.409 --> 00:14:54.450 worked directly with the Sheffield City Council 00:14:54.450 --> 00:14:57.139 to physically update the site. they removed the 00:14:57.139 --> 00:14:59.840 heavy aging and rotting timber posts and fences 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:02.059 replacing them with lightweight painted steel 00:15:02.059 --> 00:15:05.220 posts and durable handrails they reordered the 00:15:05.220 --> 00:15:08.000 uneven sloping steps that had become a trip hazard 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:11.200 over the decades too right yes and they provided 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:14.240 new handrails specifically to fix the disabled 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:17.720 access they also added an additional modernized 00:15:17.720 --> 00:15:20.480 display board to tell the story of the crew and 00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:23.059 a dedicated weatherproof box for family friends 00:15:23.059 --> 00:15:26.279 and visitors to leave memorabilia The push for 00:15:26.279 --> 00:15:29.419 accessibility there is so vital. Upgrading the 00:15:29.419 --> 00:15:31.720 steps and installing steel handrails isn't just 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:34.500 a basic construction project. It's a way of ensuring 00:15:34.500 --> 00:15:36.919 the memorial remains open to the people who most 00:15:36.919 --> 00:15:39.259 want to visit. Exactly. Surviving relatives, 00:15:39.659 --> 00:15:41.620 aging veterans, and the older community members 00:15:41.620 --> 00:15:44.559 who remember the dedication in 1969 need to be 00:15:44.559 --> 00:15:46.779 able to safely navigate the terrain. Physical 00:15:46.779 --> 00:15:49.080 memorials must adapt to remain accessible to 00:15:49.080 --> 00:15:51.860 all generations, not just the physically agile. 00:15:52.139 --> 00:15:54.000 And they managed to finish all of those upgrades 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:56.570 just in time. for the 80th anniversary. Oh, wow. 00:15:56.870 --> 00:16:00.750 Yeah. On February 22nd, 2024, at exactly 11 Mio 00:16:00.750 --> 00:16:03.950 in the morning, two F -15E Strike Eagles from 00:16:03.950 --> 00:16:06.370 RAF Lake and Heath returned to perform another 00:16:06.370 --> 00:16:09.389 commemorative flypast over the newly refurbished 00:16:09.389 --> 00:16:11.730 memorial. It is a remarkable chain of custody. 00:16:12.299 --> 00:16:14.039 From the local men and women who rushed toward 00:16:14.039 --> 00:16:17.059 the burning wreckage in 1944, to the city officials 00:16:17.059 --> 00:16:20.620 planting oaks in 1969, to the military cadets, 00:16:20.700 --> 00:16:23.799 to Tony Foods quietly sweeping the steps, to 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:26.480 the thousands of people who donated to a GoFundMe 00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:30.299 in 2023. The dedication simply refuses to fade. 00:16:30.679 --> 00:16:32.220 For you listening to this, I think the real takeaway 00:16:32.220 --> 00:16:34.259 here isn't just the mechanics of a World War 00:16:34.259 --> 00:16:36.519 II plane crash or the logistics of a military 00:16:36.519 --> 00:16:38.840 fly pass. No, it's bigger than that. It's a profound 00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:41.980 testament to how an ordinary community in Sheffield 00:16:41.980 --> 00:16:44.519 looked at 10 American airmen who fell from the 00:16:44.519 --> 00:16:46.500 sky into their park and essentially adopted them 00:16:46.500 --> 00:16:49.200 as their own sons. They made a collective, unspoken 00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:51.860 promise that those 10 men would never be forgotten. 00:16:52.139 --> 00:16:54.240 And through sweeping leaves, planting scarlet 00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:56.779 oaks, raising thousands of pounds and organizing 00:16:56.779 --> 00:16:59.460 international fly pass, they have actively kept 00:16:59.460 --> 00:17:02.159 that promise. for 80 years. Which raises an important 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:04.059 question and a final thought I really want to 00:17:04.059 --> 00:17:06.599 leave with you today. As time marches on, the 00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:09.579 generation with any direct lived connection to 00:17:09.579 --> 00:17:12.140 the events of World War II is entirely fading 00:17:12.140 --> 00:17:14.960 away. Yeah, we are losing them fast. We see from 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:17.200 the Mi Amigo story that physical sites require 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:21.039 constant, expensive, and physical upkeep. Whether 00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:23.079 it's an individual manually sweeping the paths 00:17:23.079 --> 00:17:25.460 every morning or a community having to raise 00:17:25.460 --> 00:17:28.740 16 ,000 pounds just to install steel handrails 00:17:28.740 --> 00:17:31.160 so people can safely visit. Right. What happens 00:17:31.160 --> 00:17:33.059 to our thousands of physical monuments across 00:17:33.059 --> 00:17:35.619 the globe in another 80 years? Will the ease 00:17:35.619 --> 00:17:38.339 of digital memory, Wikipedia pages, and trending 00:17:38.339 --> 00:17:41.440 hashtags eventually replace the deep human need 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:44.259 for bronze plaques and scarlet oaks? Or is there 00:17:44.259 --> 00:17:46.400 something irreplaceable about standing in a freezing 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:49.180 park, touching a cold stone, and looking up at 00:17:49.180 --> 00:17:51.940 a physical scar on a tree that forces us to remember 00:17:51.940 --> 00:17:55.059 in a way a screen never could? That is the question 00:17:55.059 --> 00:17:57.140 we are going to have to answer. It truly will 00:17:57.140 --> 00:17:59.420 define how the future chooses to remember the 00:17:59.420 --> 00:18:02.160 past. Thank you for joining us as we unpacked 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:04.619 the incredible history and legacy of the Mi Amigo 00:18:04.619 --> 00:18:06.839 Memorial. Keep looking up at the trees and we 00:18:06.839 --> 00:18:08.720 will catch you on the next deep dive.