Every time I hear about the story of Tony Foulds it brings a tear to my eye. What an amazing man and how fitting that his dream will come true today.
On this day, in 1944, a plane carrying 10 American airmen crashed in a park where Tony was playing as a child. He tells a story of how, as the plane came in low, the children in the park thought the men in the B-17 bomber were waving to them, until they realised they were actually waving for them to get them out of the way. The children did manage to run out of the way to safety, but the plane sadly crashed in the woods nearby with all ten men dying. Those men sacrificed their lives for the children and the people in the surrounding houses. If they had crashed on the houses the devastation and loss of life would have been huge. The whole episode obviously made a huge impression on Tony, because when a memorial was erected in 1977 Tony has tended to it every single day. He has weeded the area, and kept it clean and tidy and honoured those men ever since.
It was a chance meeting with a BBC reporter as he walked his dog that made the events today possible. Tony chatted to Dan Walker and mentioned that it was his dream to have a fly past. Well today, by the power of the media and one very special man, that flypast to honour those men is happening. The flypast is not just to honour the men who died but also Tony Foulds, for his dedication and care.
I cant help but shed a tear for this man today as I watch the BBC today. I watched him cry on television when he realised his dream would come true, and my tears are happiness that this is happening for him. Read his story in the links and smile for him. What a truly amazing man. Today we honour those that died that day, and we honour Tony for his dedication.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-south-yorkshire-46762440/sheffield-man-s-pride-tending-to-plane-crash-memorial
https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/uk/pensioner-breaks-down-as-dan-walker-helps-flypast-tribute-dream-come-true/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/22/ww2-plane-crash-memorial-honoured-fly-past-pensioner-sparked/
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/raf-lakenheath-to-perform-fly-past-for-lost-airmen-after-pensioner-s-bbc-campaign-1-5861075
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=4z8pSzf3&id=43B7CBC929B7F940C9C7DE1B97A1312D690CB73B&thid=OIP.4z8pSzf3VRgPFgpcU9TNqQEsCs&mediaurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.marketoracle.co.uk%2fimages%2f2019%2fFeb%2ftony-foulds-bbc-flypast-us-bomber-crash.jpg&exph=418&expw=728&q=tony%27s+flypast+22+feb+2019&simid=607986425106269096&selectedIndex=25&ajaxhist=0
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