European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 24, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse By Thomas w. Young associated press silence and fog hang Over what is left of a runway at Rougham Airfield near jury St. Edmunds England. At this Airfield american fliers in world War i roared off to raid German targets. Today s peacefulness contrasts with my Grandfather s memories of the . 8th air Force base the rumble of scores of engines dogfights overhead a b-17 Landing with heavy Battle damage every Man aboard wounded every Cartridge aboard fired the air Crak itself dripping blood. My Grandfather Chi t. Morgan Daniel was a Mechanic at this Airfield with the 94th bomb group it , during world War ii before i left the1 United states Tor my vacation in England he said sadly that he doubted that i would be aide to Lind any e of ibis Airfield. But i found remnant of runways Huls used Lor storage and housing and i control lower and not least a t Community that still identifies itself by what Ament ans did Here almost so years ago. In Ogham is in tin1 ast Anglia Region of England Flat Arm t Milry jilting into the North sea. Its location and terrain were tailor made for Wii air leases designed to laugh Alin d bombers toward Germany and of copied Europe. Inside thu it i lying f fortress pub built on the Bast site the Walls today Are med w Ith photographs of men in Leal her Jai Keh t rout lied m neat rows before plane s painted with w hat was Ltd Ailt d nose Art cartoons illustrated tin1 planes nit Namts i of Goth air i on e bombers spurted names Sut h As Quot Royal i Lush Quot Southern t Comfort Quot Quot 1 he Eagle s Wrath Quot and Quot rain of 1 a Woollen plat ii in the pub t Arrit s the Quot a Quot Itiat adorn d the tails of die bombers that flew from Here and says m eth bomb i Lump i a to i he pub also features a painting of b 1 7s in flight a print of Whit h i Hail seen several times Hettie stripes of Gurine a in my grandfathers House it was the Handiwork of a Comrade in arms. An american accent and a mention of the 8th air Force brings a warm Welcome in Bury St. Edmunds and at the flying fortress. Quot there is an awful lot of Good feeling toward the americans who were Hert during the War Quot said Keith Allchin the owner of the pub. The feeling is Mutual. My Grandfather used to talk fondly about the hospitality of the English townsfolk and of dinners at their Homes Allchin said that As Many As 400 american veterans have visited his pub since the flying fortress opened in december 1988, Quot they re pleased to think they re remembered Quot he said. Quot they seem to think a lot of people have forgotten All about veterans and those visiting on behalf of veterans Are asked to sign a guest Book kept at the bar. A bartender also gave me a map of Rougham As it was during wartime to help identify w hat remains. Finding those remnants in t easy. Rougham Airfield originally a British Royal air Force base was camouflaged in its time. Quot the cult Watfeh bombed All around us but they never found us Quot my Grandfather used to say. I Hwi two of the empty buildings that still stand at Rougham Airfield in Bury St. Edmunds England the Wii Home of american pilots and Crews. And for All practical purposes Rougham is still camouflaged today. A narrow twisting Road leads from Bury St. Edmunds to the Airfield site or the aerodrome As the British fall it. Other than the pub s sign nothing visible on mount Road indicates that part of the air Power hat liberated Europe was launched from Here. An official military account of the 8th air Force s first year Over Europe quotes Virgil Quot Germany heard a clashing of arms All Over the sky the Alps trembled with uncommon earthquakes. Never did lightnings fall in greater quantities from a Serene sky or dire thunders Blaze so local residents confirmed that part of Rougham Airfield still existed and provided directions. Amid Fields of wheat Barley and sugar beets one finds part of the runways cracked and broken. In a heavy Mist they appear to recede into the past and a walk Down one of them Sterns to go of forever. Instead of warplanes tractors now Roll Down the runways Farmers use some of the huts that airmen once occupied As storage Sheds. In a heavy British fog the kind that might have grounded a bombing Mission the huts materialize like ghosts As one approaches. A bumpy Muddy path leads to what had been the control Tower the heart of the Busy base. Locals say that an elderly woman made the Tower her Home until her death about 18 months ago. Today it is hidden among Trees and High weeds Rougham Industrial Estale a Small Industrial Park has grown up around other buildings. Anti some of those structures have fount a modern use according to Allchin. Quot a Hanger itself is a seed storage depot a he said and an a environmental group is refurbishing the old t Hapel and get a hoping to urn it into a Village Hall. F Ventu Aily Rougham Airfield May go the Way of its planes and fliers into history. Al thin said a Developer wants to build houses there. The lightning and Thunder launched against targets such As German factories and submarine pens have Long since stilled. But at least Tor now Tine can find a Tew silent reminders. A in i if a
