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Operation Market Garden: English celebration held to honor 315th WWII vets

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jeff Kelly
  • 315th AW Public Affairs
CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Tucked away in a rural English field in the heart of England's countryside, sits what is left of an airbase; where over 60 years ago, the men and women stationed there did their part to save the free world.

On September 13th and 14th English organizers held a two-day event called Operation Market Garden, intended to honor these brave men and women and to remember the men stationed at Royal Air Field Spanhoe who paid the ultimate sacrifice in support of freedom. The celebration was filled with World War II re-enactments, vintage aircraft flybys, memorabilia displays and incredible stories told by four veterans who were stationed at RAF Spanhoe during the war.

RAF Spanhoe is located in Northamptonshire, England. During the war, this was the home for the 315th Troop Carrier Group a predecessor of the current 315th Airlift Wing located at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C. The men of the 315th TCG flew the mighty Douglas C-47 Skytrain cargo plane, and with this plane the 315th TCG dropped American, British and Polish paratroops during the D-Day Invasion, Operation Market Garden and Operation Varsity just to name a few.

"This is overwhelming and humbling and reminds me of some beautiful and troubled times, seeing the field as it is set up today," said Dick Ford, a retired Lieutenant Colonel and C-47 pilot that was stationed at RAF Spanhoe during the war. "The friendship expressed by our British friends has been overwhelming and it is a pleasure for us to see the current 315th here carrying on our tradition and upholding our reputation so proudly."

Lt. Col. Ford's aircraft was severely damaged during one mission and his crew was forced to make an emergency landing after being bombarded by German anti-aircraft and small-arms fire. The crew chief and radio operator on the C-47 were severely injured, but the entire crew was able to avoid capture.

While walking around the airfield, another of the American veterans in attendance found something truly remarkable. Evelyn "Chappy" Kowalchuk, who received her nickname because she did not like to hear Airmen curse, found a newspaper clipping with her picture in it from 1944 when she was stationed at RAF Spanhoe. Kowalchuk, was one of the world's first female flight nurses and actually spent the night in a foxhole while tending to wounded troops during the Normandy invasion. She is also one of the only women to ever be presented with the French Legion of Honor Medal for her actions during the war.

"I feel like sort of a pioneer," said Kowalchuk. "Flight nurses were experimental in the Second World War and what we did has culminated in what aeromedical evacuation is today."

Bud Pence, one of younger veterans in attendance at only 84-years old, expressed his gratitude for the warm reception that the British hosts provided.

"I am absolutely amazed at the time that they have spent with us and we are so flattered to have the whole thing here honoring us," said Pence. "It's just been fabulous, much better than I could have ever imagined."

Amazement and a sense of awe were common feelings for the four veterans in attendance. Time did very little to decay the strong adoration that each one of them felt towards their British friends and the airfield.

"I'm so glad to be standing here at this great place after all these years," said Bernie Brown, a 315th TCG crew Chief who among other things helped to repatriate a group of British Troops who had managed to escape into Belgium after escaping from Dunkirk, Germany. "I am at a loss for words."

The four veterans were joined on their trip to RAF Spanhoe by two current members of the 315th AW, and three children of veterans who served there. The entire group immediately bonded and spent most of the weekend in each others company.

"My dad wanted to come but could not," said Gail Bernard, whose father was a member of the 315th TCG. "He was happy that I was able to come, and it meant a whole lot to me."

"My first trip here was when I was 11-years old in 1959," said Miles Hamby, whose father was the commander of the 310th Troop Carrier Squadron. "We came to England on a trip and it was my father's first priority to get to Spanhoe. When we got here dad got out of the car, he looked around and I remember the grass was growing up through the runway. He was just silent. He stood there and he took it all in...all of it...everything that had happened here. I get a little emotional talking about it."

Getting a little emotional was something that happened to every person in attendance at one time or another. A memorial service held on Sunday to honor the allied troops who never made it home from the war brought literally hundreds of people in attendance to tears. It was a solemn but necessary bit of the weekend that would have pulled at even the most hardened person's heartstrings.

But for as every somber moment over the weekend, there were many more thrilling ones. The site of an American P-51 Mustang and British Spitfire chasing a German Messerschmitt across the same cloudy English skies that they had all once filled over 60-years ago was exhilarating. Seeing a C-47 fly over the airfield that once served as the airframe's home was equally as exciting.

But above all, feeling the welcoming spirit of the British people was decidedly the most amazing part of the journey back to RAF Spanhoe, and a big "Thank You" from the veterans in attendance and the 315th AW goes out to everyone who worked so hard to put the weekend together.