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Digby members attend Goxhill ceremony

By SSgt. Mitch Porter
Det. 1, 488th IS
Royal Air Force Digby, England

Three members of the U.S. Armed Forces stationed at Royal Air Force Digby, England, recently participated in a dedication ceremony at Goxhill, North Lincolnshire.

Members included: Navy CTR1 Dan Beasley, MSgt. Stephen Elliott and SSgt. Mitch Porter.

Det. 1, 488th Intelligence Squadron has participated in this annual ceremony for the past four years.

The service includes a plaque dedication and a wreath laying ceremony to remember those who lost their lives during World War II.

The plaque was dedicated to commemorate the presence of the 78th Fighter Group; 82nd, 83rd and 84th Fighter Squadrons of the 8th Air Force, United States Army Air Force, who were present at Station F-345 Goxhill from December 1942 to April 1943.

A “Liberty Run” tour of the airfield and surrounding facilities was conducted in authentic World War II vehicles and included visits to hangers, the cookhouse, the cinema, the Officer’s Mess and an underground communications center which was also used as an evacuation shelter during air raids.

The American 8th Air Force of the USAAF used this station from June 1942 to February 1945 as a fighter operational training base. The Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and the North American P-51 Mustang were all used at this station.

Scout crews were trained alongside fighter pilots. Pilots from RAF Digby were sent to Goxhill Fighter Training Centre on occasion to give instructions to American pilots. The Airfield Tribute consists of a memorial with commemorative plaques for those pilots who died during training accidents here and other pilots who became casualties during combat sorties.

Everyone at the ceremony shared the significant and memorable occasion of honoring the Fighting Scouts of the 8th Air Force — both living and dead.