June 22nd 2019, the day of the unveiling of the memorial to the crews of two 379th Bomb Group B-17s that collided over Allhallows, Kent on June 19th 1944.
The day finally arrived, after six months of organising, emailing, badgering and beavering away, Mitch Peeke’s vision of a memorial for the crew of B-17 #44-6133 piloted by 2nd Lieutenant Armand Ramacitti, finally arrived.
A break in what had been many days of storms and heavy rain allowed the sun to shine on this, a quiet corner on the northern coast of Kent. A place which overlooks the mud flats of the Thames Estuary, with Essex and Southend beyond. A place where like minded people gathered to pay their respects to the brave crew of a B-17 that fought tirelessly in the skies of Europe during World War II.
Flanked by two authentic World War II jeeps, reenactors and an Air Cadet Guard of Honour, Mitch Peeke took centre stage and reminded us why we were here. With the ‘Stars and Stripes’ flapping in the wind, Mitch told the story of the two aircraft that collided in the skies above, an accident in which eleven young men lost their lives almost 75 years ago to the day.
The Thames Estuary were the B-17 came down.
A solemn silence fell as Mitch then introduced two living relatives of that crew, Jeanne Cronis-Campbell (the daughter of Bombardier Second Lieutenant Theodore ‘Teddy‘ Chronopolis) and Noel Togazzini (nephew of Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Staff Sergeant Cecil Tognazzini), who had flown over all the way from the United States for this special occasion.
The sound of TAPS then resonated across the site, after which Jeanne and Noel lifted the flag from the plaque. The Reverend Steven Gwilt then blessed the memorial, and lead the gathered in prayers of remembrance.
Jeanne and Noel unveil the memorial.
The silence prevailed, people’s thoughts perhaps turning to that day in 1944, and what must have been going through the minds of those young men as they battled to get out of that B-17 as it fell perilously towards Earth and a decisive fate.
Mitch then stepped forward once more, introduced the band who lightened the moment with their collection of well known 1940’s music. The band played on throughout the afternoon, the drinks flowed and friendships were forged. Just as in the 1940s, hands that had stretched across the sea were now hands together, stories and personal moments were shared, it was like meeting an old friend.
The Memorial at Allhallows.
The day was more than a success, it was a celebration of life. A celebration that now sees a memorial, long since missed, standing as close as it can to the point of impact, where all but one of the Ramacitti crew died.
My own personal thanks go to Mitch for the hard work he put in to organising the event, to both Jeanne and Noel, for sharing their stories and also to Geoff Burke for sharing stories of his own personal voyage to this point.
Most of all though, I would like to thank the crew of B-17 #44-6133, who fought so bravely for the freedom we all enjoy today.
The crew of #44-6133 were:
Pilot: Second Lieutenant Armand Ramacitti
Co-pilot: Second Lieutenant William ‘Bill’ Hager
Navigator: First Lieutenant Donald ‘Don’ Watson
Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Staff Sergeant Cecil Tognazzini
Radio Operator: Sergeant Richard ‘Dick’ Ritter
Ball turret gunner: Staff Sergeant John Burke
Waist gunner: Corporal Paul Haynes
Tail gunner: Sergeant Warren Oaks (his second mission)
Bombardier: Second Lieutenant Theodore Chronopolis
The full story of the accident can be read in Mitch’s guest post “A Long Way From Home.”
Mitch, Jeanne and Noel.
World War II Jeep ‘Jezebel’.
Geoff’s print of the two B-17s signed by some surviving members of the crew and relatives. Many of these crewmen have now passed on.
Some of the reenactors.
Aviation Trails 
Pingback: An update to the Allhallows 379th BG Memorial. | Aviation Trails
By way of an update, I had taken the plaque and the storyboard down for the winter, after I got out of hospital (that’s another story!). The storms we’d had plus the unprecedented amount of rain, had inflicted some damage to the basework. Paul Hare and his Groundskeeping team at the Holiday Park once again stepped in. They installed a third, lower stand for me and then carefully removed the decorative stones so they could concrete the entire base, putting the stones back on the setting concrete so that the whole thing is now set and solid. I came back and repainted the original stands.
I then re-installed the original plaque and storyboard, the backboards of which I had re-varnished. On the third, lower stand is a new plate I had made, bearing the only known photos of some of the crew members. The pictures had been taken by Teddy Chronopolis during a training flight in Texas. His daughter, Jeanne, very kindly let me have copies, which I took to the signmakers. Having done that, I went down onto the beach and gathered up loads of Oyster shells and some driftwood. I laid the driftwood at the base of the lower stand with some of the Oyster shells, then used the rest of the shells to lay a complete border around the inner perimeter of the memorial base. The driftwood and shells are to symbolize the aircraft’s final resting place.I then took a photo, which I sent to both Jeanne and Noel. They were both touched by this “Mk II” memorial!
The memorial has now been formally inducted into the Allhallows Village Heritage Trail. The first guided Heritage walk was held on the second weekend in March and was well attended. Unfortunately of course, the Coronavirus restrictions have curtailed such activities at the moment and the Holiday Park is closed to holidaymakers, too. But people do still exercise their dogs and themselves along the seafront. Hopefully, things will return to some kind of normality before this summer is done!
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Thanks Mitch, please ignore my email you’ve answered it here!!
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Just thought I would let everyone know that after the costs of the whole project and the event day were paid, we raised a total of £254:85 for SALLY B. Add Gift Aid to that, and the donation grows to £308:85. I posted the cheque and donation slip to them today. A big “THANK YOU!”, once again, to all those who supported the project in whatever way. I’m sure The B-17 Charitable Trust will be able to put that money to good use! The project’s GoFundMe page has now been closed.
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Thank you Mitch a fabulous figure and one I’m sure Sally B will be pleased to receive.
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Hopefully it may help toward one of her many and ongoing Bills!
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Looks like a wonderful day and the memorial is a real achievement.
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It was a great day and the memorial was a fabulous achievement. So Many people helped and worked toward achieving Mitch’s dream.
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It’s a really admirable achievement, he should be so proud if it.
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Indeed they did, Andy! It was nothing short of marvellous, how so many people got behind this project! Made a difficult task a lot easier, I can tell you! I would like to say a very big “THANK YOU!” to everybody who supported this project. I couldn’t have done it without you all!
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Thank you, Jonno! It really was a great day and as I said earlier, I know you were with us in spirit!
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That’s simply wonderful; how fitting that we remember these men. Nicely written up too.
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Thank you!
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