Commemorative plaque of crashed American bomber

On the lawn at the intersection of Gaasbeekstraat and Brussels street, a commemorative plaque was unveiled in memory of an Air Force B17 Flying Fortress that crashed there on 13 July 1944. This American bomber was shot down by the occupying forces. Not only all 10 crew members, but also a curious Lennikenaar was killed.
The plane, along with its squadron, had not arrived in England in Nuthampstead until April in preparation for landing in Normandy.
When their formation took off, the intention was to bomb an engine factory in Munich for the third day in a row. However, the plane didn't get that far. Over Brussels they were hit by German anti-aircraft guns. The plane, flying at an altitude of 6,000 meters, was hit in the back of the flank and broke into three pieces. The largest part came down at Gaasbeek, another part more towards Sint-Martens and the third part near Groenenberg

The crashed plane also aroused the curiosity of the people of Sint-Martens and soon people started looking.

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