VIDEO: Thousands gather for Mi Amigo memorial fly-past on 75th anniversary of disaster

The disaster saw ten American servicemen killed when the pilot crash-landed the B-17 Flying Fortress into woodland — avoiding a group of children playing below.

Tony Foulds, who was aged eight at the time, was one of those children who witnessed the crash and for the past 50 years he has selflessly maintained the memorial in the park in honour of the men.

His story went viral across the globe after BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker met Tony by chance as he was tending to the memorial (below).

Tony told the presenter he had always wished for a memorial fly-past to take place — and this morning there were emotional scenes in the park as nearly 10,000 people joined the pensioner for the commemoration.

The US and British National Anthems were performed by the Frecheville Branch of the Royal British Legion before the flypast at 8.45am. 

Planes that took part in fly-past included:

• F-15E Strike Eagles from RAF Lakenheath
• KC-135 Stratotanker
• MC-130J Commando II
• CV-22 Osprey from RAF Mildenhall
• Typhoon from RAF Coningsby
• Dakota from RAF Coningsby

Pat Davey, chairman of the RBL Frecheville Branch, said: “We are delighted to support the 75th anniversary, not only by leading a service of commemoration but also to highlight the dedication shown by Tony Foulds. Tony has lovingly maintained their memorial and he is responsible for this magnificent tribute to their heroism, both on the ground and in the air.”

Speaking about Mi Amigo, Pat said it was a remarkable story of heroism by the American crew, adding: “They came in just feet from the ground and then they saw the children — the first lot of six boys, including Tony. 

“Some of the crew waved desperately to the children to move off the grass, but the children misinterpreted the waves and just waved back.

“These ten American boys had two choices — save themselves or choose certain death. ‘Us or the children?’ They chose to make the ultimate sacrifice of their own lives.” 

The pilot was attempting to return the aircraft to its base in Northamptonshire after being attacked by German fighters earlier that day, but it suffered catastrophic engine failure over Sheffield.

Eyewitnesses reported that the aircraft tried to put down in a thin strip of parkland, but the pilot pulled up the nose when he saw the children playing, and hit the hill instead to avoid casualties on the ground.

Pilot Lt John Kriegshauser was awarded a posthumous Distinguished Flying Cross for minimising loss of life.

In addition to today’s fly-past, the annual memorial service will take place on Sunday at 2pm at St Augustine’s Parish Church, Endcliffe, and wreaths will be laid in the park at the site where the Royal Air Force Association (Sheffield Branch) placed the memorial stone in 1966.