England ceremony marks 70th anniversary of Eighth Air Force
GRAFTON UNDERWOOD, United Kingdom – Maj. Gen. Stephen Wilson, Eighth Air Force commander, speaks to a crowd of more than 200, including Royal Air Force Air Commodore R.L. Atherton, representing the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence and Air Chief Marshall Sir Stephen Dalton, RAF Chief of Air Staff; Col. Brian Kelly, 501st Combat Support Wing commander; local community leaders from Kettering, United Kingdom; and veterans at Boughton House Aug. 17. The day marked the 70th anniversary of the first Eighth Air Force bombers, from the 97th Bombardment Group (Heavy), participating in World War II which launched from Grafton Underwood. Col. Frank Armstrong, 97th BG commander, and the 340th Bomb Squadron commander Maj. Paul Tibbets (who later flew the Enola Gay to Hiroshima, Japan, on the first atomic bomb mission) piloted the lead aircraft of the group, Butcher Shop. In the leading aircraft of the second flight, Yankee Doodle, flew Gen. Ira C. Eaker, the commanding general of the VIII Bomber Command. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Stives)