Kim said “When I saw the bodies lying on the ground, it reminded me of my brother, who was killed in a plane crash over Burma and whose body was never recovered. The Japanese striped the site of usable parts, looted the bodies, and left the bodies of the dead airmen. Kim, Deok-hyeong, a resident of Namhae, joined the Japanese in climbing up the mountain peak and found smoke and flames billowing out of a crashed U.S. On Namhae Island Īround 2 AM on August 8, Kim Deok-hyeong was awakened by what he described as "the loudest sound I've ever heard in my life, it was like a bomb explosion.” A huge column of smoke rising from the peak of the mountain appeared. After a month squadron records recorded “nil reports and nil sightings” with the crew members being listed as missing in action. American ships and planes searched the southern coast off Korea but found nothing. had crashed on the 3000-foot peak of Mangwun mountain, on the island of Namhae off the southern coast of Korea. The B24, ironically nicknamed “Lucky Lady II", crippled by Japanese ground fire never returned to base. Ī 200-foot enemy vessel was spotted, and one of the bombers scored a direct hit, and left it dead in the water. Army Air Forces B24 Liberators heavy bombers of the 868th Bomber Squadron, took off from their base on Okinawa to search for enemy ships in off the southeastern coast of Korea, towards Busan, and back to Okinawa. On the night August 7, 1945, a week before the end of World War II, two U.S. Airmen who were killed when their B-24 Liberator crashed into the mountain peak on Namhae returning from a bombing mission early in the morning of August 8, 1945, after being damaged by Japanese artillery, and to Kim Deok-hyeong, who single-handedly buried the 11 men, used his own funds to build a monument at the crash site, and establish the Memorial Hall where ceremonies are still held each year for the Airmen. Airmen Killed In Action During World War II in Namhae, Namhae Island, South Korea is dedicated to the 11 U.S. Airmen Killed In Action During World War II
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