81 years after the World War Two ‘Mi Amigo’ plane crash, a memorial service was held to honour the ten American airmen who lost their lives. 

The B-17 aircraft crashed in Endcliffe Park on 22 February 1944, after sustaining damage to its engines. 

Tony Foulds, 88, a witness of the crash in 1944, said: “I’ve looked after the memorial since I was 17. It’s all about them. My life is all about them.”

Mr Foulds remembered ‘everything’ when the plane ‘broke in half and burst into flames’, as the pilot reportedly crashed to avoid him and the other children in the park. 

He lived with ‘guilt’ and thought if it were not for him, the plane would have been able to land. 

The great-niece of Technical Sergeant George M. Williams, one of the men aboard the plane, travelled from Arkansas, USA, to attend the service.

The service included a bugler playing The Last Post at 11 a.m., a two-minute silence, and Mr Foulds reading the Lord’s Prayer. 

Darlene Cunningham, 74, from Wakefield, who attended the memorial, said: “I find it very touching. I give Tony Foulds all the credit in the world for doing something like this. I mean it’s just amazing.”

First Lieutenant John Kriegshauser, the pilot, received a posthumous Distinguished Flying Cross for sacrificing himself and the crew. 

Mr Foulds, who was present when the RAF established the memorial, expressed his wish to have his ashes scattered there, as it is where he ‘wants to be’. 

Sophie Stanley, 19, Crookesmoor, said: “I think the fact he experienced that is unbelievable. To go there every day and pay his respect to the lives that were lost there, it’s really inspiring.”

Many attendees of the Parkrun on Saturday morning wore red, white and blue in honour of the fallen airmen. 

The 75th anniversary of the crash was celebrated with a flypast, with aircraft from the Royal Air Force and the United States Air Force. 

The RAF Association annually commemorates the men on the Sunday closest to the anniversary, followed by a service at St. Augustine’s church in Endcliffe.