War Memorial to United States Servicemen.
I noticed the fact that there was a War Memorial on the former Greenham Common Airbase by accident. In the security office is a map. I saw it on the legend, but took quite a while to identify the location.
The memorial is a tribute to American Servicemen who died in two separate accidents. The first, on 12 December 1944, was a glider crash at the airbase, resulting in the loss of 31 lives.
The second just three days later, when two B-17 bombers collided over the airbase on their return from a mission in Kassel, Germany. All but two of the airmen lost their lives.
The memorial was dedicate by the Princess Royal on 21 September 2012.
It is a shame this War Memorial is tucked right out of the way in a private car park. No doubt largely unseen. Whatever the negative history of the site in more recent years, those who lost their lives whilst supporting us during WWII deserve better recognition and remembrance.
I have used a wide aperture to reduce the depth of field in order to make these memorial stones stand out against the background. I was pleased with the lighting and sky at the time I took this photograph.
Photograph Details:
- Taken: 9 Jul 2017
- Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10 MkIIA
- Lens: Olympus 14-42 1:3.5-5.6
- Focal Length 14mm
- F/3.5
- 1/1000 Sec
- ISO 200