British village honors Kalispell pilot

Residents of Redlingfield, a small village in Suffolk in eastern England, recently honored a Kalispell airman, 2nd Lt. Kenneth B. Rongstad — a B-17 pilot whose aircraft crashed in the village on Nov. 19, 1943.

A memorial recently was dedicated to the 10 crew members of the 95th Bomb Group who all died in the accident shortly after takeoff from nearby Horham Airfield.

Although the airplane exploded upon impact at Green Farm, a pregnant woman and her 2-year-old daughter in the farmhouse survived the blast from the airplane that was fully loaded with bombs, ammunition and fuel. No villagers were seriously hurt.

The surviving girl — Ann Stebbings — joined a trio of U.S. Army Air Force veterans to lay wreaths as the memorial was unveiled and dedicated on May 15. Many locals vividly remember the accident that happened at about 8.30 a.m. when farm workers were in the fields and children were cycling to school.

Janet Norman-Philips, chairwoman of the Redlingfield Parish Council, had contacted the Inter Lake to obtain a picture of Rongstad and any information about family members who would like to know about their project.

Rongstad’s obituary said he graduated from Flathead High School in 1940, entered the military in 1941 and was commissioned as a bomber pilot in March 1943. He was buried at Conrad Memorial Cemetery.

His survivors were listed as his parents, Alfred M. and Grace Rongstad, now deceased; a brother Wallace of Kalispell; twin half-brothers Floyd W. Rongstad of Corning, Calif., and Milton C. Rongstad of Lakeside; and half-sister Ruby Bostick of Vancouver, Wash.

His brother Wallace, who also served in World War II, died in an auto accident in Deer Lodge in 1954. Wallace was survived by his wife, Betty, and daughter Janet, 2 at the time.

According to some sources in the village, a nephew of Rongstad’s visited Horham about 10 to 12 years ago.

But no one knew his name or how to contact him about the dedication.

The town’s search failed to turn up any relatives but did find a veteran, Earl Joswick, who knew a member of the crew. He attended the ceremony.

Readers of the Inter Lake were among those who sent donations that helped ensure the memorial was finished for the 95th Bomb Group Memorials Foundation’s Return to Horham Tour 2010.

The ceremony began with a parade of standards led by a Royal Air Force bagpiper from Green Farm to the memorial site. 

Flight Sgt. Michael Luke represented the Royal Air Force, which marked the occasion with a fly-over by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Douglas C47 Dakota followed by U.S. and British national anthems as the crowd stood at attention.

Norman-Philips acted as master of ceremonies for the program that included moving speeches by Janie McKnight of the 95th Bomb Group Memorials Foundation; James Mutton of the 95th Bomb Group Heritage Association; U.S. Air Force fighter pilot Lt. Col. Brent Vosseller; Tim Passmore, the leader of Mid Suffolk District Council; Stuart Gemmill, the vice chairman of Mid Suffolk District Council; and Eddy Alcock the vice chairman of Suffolk County Council.

Stebbings and Joswick laid wreaths on the memorial.

Joswick was one of a trio of U.S. veterans attending the ceremony. Joswick had known Staff Sgt. Kenneth Crosby, one of the B-17 crewmen killed in the crash. Frank A. Martin, one of the other veterans, had not been back to Suffolk since the war ended.

U.S. Air Force Chaplain Capt. Richard Holmes dedicated the memorial.

A crowd of about 200 looked on as a bagpiper and bugler added to the atmosphere on the quiet country lane, providing a mournful rendition of the “Last Post,” followed by two minutes of silence, then the uplifting tones of “Reveille.” The ceremony concluded with a haunting lament on the bagpipes.

Local newspapers and TV crews, including the BBC, recorded the event and interviewed the U.S. veterans and locals who saw the crash.

According to Norman-Philips, no one knows why the B-17 crashed on that very cold morning in November 1943. Witnesses said the plane appeared to bank too sharply on take-off, causing the plane to stall.

Rongstad’s piloting skills were never in question.

Days earlier he had successfully ditched his damaged aircraft named “Spare Parts” in the English Channel in 30-foot waves with no loss of life. Norman-Philips described this as an extraordinary maneuver on par with Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger’s landing of a commercial jetliner on the Hudson River in January 2009.

Lt. Col. Vosseller paid tribute to Rongstad’s flying skills, saying that, as a fighter pilot, the one thing he really fears is ditching in the unforgiving North Sea.

 “I was delighted that so many people came. It was very moving,” Norman-Philips said. “I just about choked back a tear but many of the spectators and participants had tears in their eyes during the ceremony. These young men were volunteers, who came to help us in very dark times, we wanted to create a memorial that honored their memory and showed we would never forget them or the many thousands of others who died fighting for our freedom.”

Even before the accident, the Americans’ arrival at Horham Airfield had a huge impact on Redlingfield and surrounding villages. The 95th Bombardment Group landed with their B-17s in June 1943, then flew 321 missions until August 1945.

More than 500 members of the 95th died in action.

Village committee member Edith Coe proposed the memorial. Her husband, Eddie, was among the villagers who remember the crash. His father, blacksmith and Special Constable Alfred Coe, was one of the first on the scene. He rode up just as a bomb exploded, blowing him off his bicycle.

With help from 95th Bomb Group Heritage Association in Horham and the 95th Bomb Group Memorials Foundation in the United States, the villagers raised about $3,100 to pay for the granite memorial.

The plaque includes an etched drawing of the B-17, specially commissioned from Dick Bierton, an award-winning monumental mason.

“Redlingfield is a very small village, less than 60 houses. The arrival of Americans in WWII had quite an impact on the village and they were very well thought of,” Norman-Philips said. “They were all very young and far too many of them didn’t go home again.”

The 95th Bomb Group Heritage Association in Horham is now the official museum of the 95th.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.