CAF Volunteers Help “Bringing The Boys Back Home” Effort

Volunteers from the Commemorative Air Force are honoring the legacy of the 423 British servicemen who were killed in the U.S. during training for World War II and were buried on American soil. The aim of the “Bringing the Boys Back Home” project is to reconnect the fallen heroes with their families in the UK.

The volunteers went about visiting every one of the 423 gravesites in 71 cemeteries across 28 states from Maine to Hawaii. At the graves, volunteers tended to the sites, many of which had been neglected for years, to clean and tidy them up. In addition, they made non-destructive rubbings of each headstone.

To ensure that all gravesites were accounted for, the CAF catalogued and photographed the rubbings at its National Headquarters at the Henry B. Tippie National Aviation Education Center in Dallas, Texas.

The rubbings will be flown to the UK aboard the CAF’s 1944 Douglas R4D “Ready 4 Duty,” which will participate in the Navy to Victory Tour.

Colin Bell is a 104-year-old Royal Air Force bomber pilot, Distinguished Flying Cross recipient, and British flight instructor who was based in the U.S. during the early years of World War II.

He said, “What a wonderful gesture by our American allies. Bringing the Boys Back Home properly recognizes the sacrifices made by these brave individuals, some of whom I served with, 80 years after they paid the ultimate price to protect our liberties and freedoms.”

David Oliver, CAF President and CEO said, “U.S. and British forces trained and fought valiantly together during World War II. We’re honored to commemorate their sacrifices and to help ensure their memory endures for future generations.”

The initiative was supported by additional organizations including the British Embassy, Ministry of Defense, the British Flying Training School Museum in Terrell, Texas; Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama; the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia; the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii; Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Charleston, South Carolina; and the British Commonwealth Remembrance Project USA.

FMI:  www.dfwwing.com/