Volunteers met at a cemetery in Terrell this week to honor British pilots who died in the city during World War Two. A total of 20 British Royal Air Force cadets died between 1941 and 1945 while training in Terrell through accidents and illness.
"We get a lot of compliments about the musem, which we greatly appreciate, and they always talk about, 'Well, I wasn't aware this part of the war effort occured in Terrell, Texas,'" says Patrick Hotard, the executive director of the British Flying Training School Museum.
Volunteers made rubbings of each tombstone at Oakland Cemetery. The spot where the 20 cadets are buried is considered British territory.
"It was a group effort. Individuals were over here training; we were providing education for them and allowing them to train on our aircraft then go back over. That was very important," says Col. Warnie Meisetschleager, the leader of Coyote Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force.
The Commemorative Air Force will fly the rubbings to the United Kingdom to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, May 8, 1945. Volunteers made four rubbings of each tombstone. One will be given to families, another will be given to the British government, a third will be given to the British Flying Training School Museum, and the Commemorative Air Force will keep the fourth.
"It is to make sure future generations have an understanding of whose shoulders they stand upon," Meisetschleager says. "That greatest generation did sacrifice a lot."
Among those making rubbings this week were students from Terrell High School. Others say they have hosted people visiting from the United Kingdom who visit the cemetery.
"It was exciting. They wanted to hear us talk, and we wanted to hear them talk," one woman says. "They wanted to go where Dallas was filmed."
The Commemorative Air Force plans to make rubbings of all 423 graves of British service members who died while training in the United States. The organization says volunteers are working in 28 states as part of its "Bringing the Boys Back Home" project.
"It's always good to see a community come together," says the British Flying Training School Museum's Hotard. "During World War Two, the country really rallied behind the whole war effort. People of all types and stripes were working in the factories, and young men of all types and stripes were serving in uniform."
The Commemorative Air Force will fly the rubbings to London in a 1944 Douglas R4D-6S, the last of its kind still flying. CAF says the flight is part of the organization's "Navy to Victory Tour," which will cover 12,000 miles over 12 weeks with stops in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Iceland and the Netherlands.
"Our purpose is to inspire, educate and honor," says CAF's Meisetschleager. "A lot of sacrifice was made by a lot of people to make sure the world stayed free. We're trying to make sure those airplanes, those individuals are remembered and understand what it takes to remain free."