The Air Medal, established by Executive Order 9158 on May 11th 1942 and ammended by Executive Order 9242-A on September 11th 1942 is a decoration that can be awarded to anyone, regardless of rank or capacity, serving in, or with the United States Army. The recipient will have distinguished him or herself with meritorious achievement whilst participating in aerial flight. Here is the story of one such hero.
A Buckingshamshire Memorial to a Fallen Hero
Outside the public library in Princes Risborough, a small town nestling in the Buckinghamshire countryside stands a modest memorial, the inscription on the plaque dedicated to an American airman who died almost sixty years ago.
Local woman, Maureen Knopp was determined that the sacrifice made by this young man would not be forgotten. On a cold November day in 1992, this middle aged lady saw her dream come true as a memorial was unveiled to honour the memory of a young American pilot. The man she had never met was etched in her memory as someone who had made the ultimate sacrifice… he gave his life in a selfless act of heroism.
Mrs Knopp was just eleven years old when she witnessed a stricken plane flying over her hometown of Princes Risborough on the morning of November 13th 1943.
Lietenant Clyde Cosper's Ultimate Sacrifice
Lieutenant Clyde Cosper, 'Sparky' to his friends was the twenty one year old pilot, who along with his crew of nine, took off in the B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed 'Miriam. (The plane is believed to have been named afted Cosper's mother, Miriam, who took her own life in 1954, never having been able to get over her son's tragic death.)
The plane took off from an airbase in Thurleigh, Bedfordshire where the crew were stationed with the 367 USAAF Bomb Squad. Its mission, a daylight bombing raid on the boat yards of Bremen, Germany, birth place of the infamous U-boat submarines which were wrecking havoc on shipping, both military and merchant as they ferried men and artillery to the War front and supplies to Britain.
Barely having left its home base, the Flying Fortress hit a pocket of bad weather; black thunder clouds filled the sky. Something went wrong and the bomber started to break up. Cosper had two stark choices, to bail out and save his own life, or to try and pilot the stricken aircraft away from the sleepy town with which he was on a collision course. Shouting the order to the rest of the crew to bail out to safety, the young airman from Dodd city, Texas USA battled with the controls as the town of Princes Risborough reared into his line of vision.
Whether it was a miracle, or his skill as an airman, probably a mixture of both, Cosper piloted the plane away from the built up area before crash landing in an open field adjacent to what is now Summerleys Road. His selfless actions cost this young man, like so many others during the dark years of war, his own life, and the opportunity to grow old surrounded by their families.
The little girl grew up, never forgetting the sound of aircraft engines droning overhead as they flew on their bombing missions and she never forgot the young man from America who sacrificed his life to save her home town.
A chance meeting with a stranger on a Trans Atlantic flight pointed her in the direction of Gordon Richards, historian to the 367th USAAF Bomber Squadron. It was he, who discovered Cosper's name, but precious little detail.
Fund Raising for the Memorial Begins
Maureen attended a local 1940’s event in September 1990, there she spotted a man dressed in an American Air Corps tunic and struck up a conversation with him. The gentleman concerned turned out to be Alec Kennedy, town librarian and organizer of the event. It wasn’t long before local newspaper, the Bucks Herald heard about ‘Princes Risboroughs lost hero,’ and the hunt was on to find out as much as possible.
Supported by their readers, the Bucks Herald launched a fund to raise the £6000 needed for a memorial to this unsung hero. Princes Risborough builders, H. Wilkins and Sons gave their services free in the construction of the simple red brick memorial, as did building manager, David Wren, Claydon associates Aylesbury and deputy Bucks county architect John Stewart. Their efforts produced an innovative yet simple design in the shape of a tail fin of a B-17 Flying Fortress behind it stand a row of metal seats, one for each of the surviving crewman.
The inscription reads as follows... In memory of 2nd Lt. Clyde ‘Sparky’ Cosper.Unveiled some forty nine years after his death, this memorial highlights just one act of heroism, which resulted in the ultimate sacrifice anyone can make, yet is a single representation of the countless acts of heroism displayed during one of mans bleakest hours.
367 USAAF bomb squad, age 21 from Dodd City, Texas.Who sacrificed his life 13.11.43.After steering his stricken aircraft away away from Princes Risborough to save the town.
Postumous Honours for a Hero
Honoured, posthumously, in his home country, Lt. Cosper was awarded the Silver Star, the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. Visitors to the Booker Aircraft Museum in Wycombe Air Park will find on display Lt. Cospers identification tag and cap badge along with the propeller blade from the Flying Fortress and some of the instruments from the plane, including the intercom switch, left on the ‘on’ position. The museum is open every weekend throughout the year and can be contacted on 01494 452320.
Sources.
- Bucks Herald Archives
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