World War II aviator flies to B24 crash memorial

Last week, World War II aviator Norman Landberg, 89, boarded American Airlines Flight 142 from JFK to London to commemorate an event that is still fresh in his memory after 65 years.
It was on the night of November 15, 1944 that the B24 piloted by 1st Lieutenant Landberg crashed into a patch of farmland in Buckinghamshire, England. Landberg was able to step out of the plane safely, and he went on to fly 56 more World War II missions.
The aviator’s return to England last week was to take part in the dedication of a memorial at the crash site to honor the nine members of the crew of the ill-fated B24. Landberg’s grandson, Chris Siefert traveled with him.
“We were just pulling up from the runway when the instrument panel went dark. There was no way to control the plane. I did manage to get a hand on the power supply and cut it off. This was necessary because in a crash, he explained, electric power could ignite the gasoline fuel from the engines and cause a fire or explosion.
“I thought for sure that I was going to die,” Landberg continued. “But I was able to walk off the plane with only a bruised knee. My navigator, Walter Lamson, and gunner, Leonard Smith, weren’t so lucky, and they both lost their lives.”
Years later, an Englishman named Chas Jellis began gathering up buckets of metal parts from his uncle’s farm where the B24 crashed. He became intensely curious about what had happened there, so he researched and uncovered the facts concerning the 1944 crash. Jellis decided it should be commemorated with a memorial and on Sunday, November 8, a marble monument was dedicated at a ceremony at Ford End Farm, near the crash site.
It bears the inscription: “It was on this farm on 15th November 1944 that a B24 Liberator 42-51219 R4I piloted by 1st Lt. Norman Landberg crashed just after take off due to mechanical failure in which two crew members perished. In remembrance of the service and sacrifice [of the B24 crew] . . . this memorial is hereby dedicated on 15th November 2009.”
– Courtesy of American Airlines