Battle of Britain ceremony recalls early World War II fighters who never returned
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on September 17, 2017 1:45 AM
Hundreds congregated at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Friday evening to remember the Battle of Britain, the historic clash between the British, French and German air forces in World War II which stemmed the tide of German advancement through Europe.
The 4th Fighter Wing, and by extension Seymour Johnson, have a particularly strong connection to the battle. American pilots Vernon "Shorty" Keough, Andy Mamedoff and Eugene "Red" Tobin joined the British Royal Air Force years before the United States formally entered the war, becoming the first members of the RAF Eagle Squadrons which would later transfer to America as the 334th, 335th and 336th Fighter Squadrons now based at Seymour Johnson.
Several speeches opened the event, including one from base historian Roy Heidicker, who explained how instrumental the Battle of Britain had been to the course of the war.
"Through the courage and sacrifice of the RAF, the British people and a handful of Americans, the British turned back the vaunted Luftwaffe, and saved civilization," he said.
Summoning his best Winston Churchill impression, he read one of the British leader's quotes.
"Never, in the history of human conflict, has so much been owed by so many to so few."
Col. Christopher Sage, 4th Fighter Wing commander, spoke next. He touched on the pride and prowess of 4th Fighter Wing airmen, and invoked the wing's storied history.
"This year marks the 75th anniversary of the 4th Fighter Wing. Seventy-five years of being fourth but first. Seventy-five years of delivering decisive combat air power any time, anywhere. Seventy-five years of being the combat wing of choice," he said.
After the speeches, the audience moved out of the hangar to where two flagpoles flew the British and American flags side-by-side. The British national anthem played, followed by the American anthem, capped by a flyover with Strike Eagles from all four squadrons.
As the honor guard took the flags down and the sun began to set, silence stretched over the flight line. As the guard finished folding the flags, the jets flew over again, this time more slowly. One of them peeled off, in a missing-man flyover to commemorate the lives lost at the Battle of Britain.
Despite the solemnity of the moment, spirits were high. Airmen gathered around five painted pianos set on sand outside the hangar, where they would participate in a piano burning ceremony. The ceremony, an RAF tradition to honor lost comrades, is said to stem from World War II, when an RAF pilot who regularly played piano for a group of officers did not make it home from a mission.
With the officers sitting around in the room with the piano feeling glum, their commanding officer is said to have ordered the piano taken outside and burned.
A group of 334th Fighter Squadron gathered around their piano as Lt. Mike Nunez, dressed in a full-body bald eagle suit, began to play a rendition of "Hotel California," with the words changed to "welcome to the fighting eagle squadrons."
As the night darkened, the event came to a close as the pianos went up in flames.