USAAF 487th Bomb Group memorial – Lavenham Airfield

The Friends of Lavenham Airfield (FOLA) is seeking funding for £6,800 for the creation of a military heritage memorial to the United States Army Air Force’s 487th Bomb Group who served on the airfield in WWII and to be unveiled as part of Lavenham’s commemoration of the 75th anniversary of VE-Day in May 2020.

The memorial.

The proposed design recalls the appearance of the WWII airfield’s original identification letters ‘LV’, a large horizontal feature that its wartime occupants would have been familiar with. The letters will be set against a dark background within a twenty foot square bordered by a low flat top walled. The memorial will lie adjacent to the restored control tower. It is FOLA’s belief that a memorial taking this form will be unique to Lavenham. The top surfaces of the wall will carry plaques recording the names of the 233 personnel who lost their lives and every unit that served as part of the 487th Bomb Group. The remaining space will be available to the relatives of 487th Bomb Group veterans to record on plaques their loved one’s service at the airfield.