The monument erected in honor of the B-24 King Size crew

At the end of December 1944, the Battle of the Bulge was raging and the Allies managed, not without great difficulty, to contain the German offensive. The weather conditions were particularly harsh during this winter of fighting. In addition to the cold and snow, the cloud cover prevented any air intervention. Around Christmas, the Allied air force benefited from a period of clearing weather, favoring the launch of coordinated attacks. On December 25, 1944, a large number of bombers were sent to target industrial sites, communications centers, and railway infrastructures. The B-24 “King Size” took part in the mission with orders to bomb mobile radio installations in the village of Wahlen in Germany.

Before reaching the target, the King Size had not suffered any damage. But following the drop, the aircraft was pursued by German fighters. The attack damaged one of the engines, which caught fire. Several crew members were injured and Henry Maxham was killed. On its way to Belgium, the plane was attacked a second time. Pilot Raymond Price ordered everyone out of the aircraft. The bomber was doomed to crash and, after struggling as long as possible, it crashed with the rest of its crew in a meadow near La Fosse, Belgium. Of the nine crew members, only three survived. One of them was taken prisoner of war and died later during a bombing raid on Bitburg.

A resident of the village had witnessed the scene, which left a deep impression on him. Some years after the war, he wanted to find out the identity of the dead airmen. He received help and in 2014 a team of researchers was assembled to come and excavate the site. Despite the years that had passed, many traces of the event were still present. All around the crash zone, there was still debris of all kinds. Researchers collected this debris, gathered eyewitness accounts, and carried out in-depth research to retrace the history of the crashed plane.

The aircraft was finally identified. It was a B-24 bomber, nicknamed “King Size.” They also found the identity of the aviators and their story could be retraced. In their memory, a monument was erected near the crash site. Dedicated to the King Size Crew Members, it was unveiled on December 29, 2018.