American troops who were killed while stationed in Derry during World War II are to be remembered in a special memorial service taking place today.
US military personnel who died in Northern Ireland during the conflict were buried in the Lisnabreeny American Military Cemetery at Rocky Road in Castlereagh Hills outside Belfast.
The first American troops arrived in Northern Ireland in 1942 to defend the North and aid the US war effort and while many died in battle almost 150 were killed in air crashes during training and road accidents.
All those killed here – 148 in total – were buried in the Lisnabreeny graveyard. It is now just a green field as three years after the war ended the bodies were exhumed and either re-patriated or moved to the main war cemetery in Cambridge, England.
However, a new monument, featuring the names of those buried in the hillside graveyard, has been erected and will be unveiled today during a special remembrance service which will include a fly-pass by a World War II bomber.
Special guest at the service will be Gabrielle Mosely, acting American Consul General.
She said a lot of Americans visit US military cemeteries throughout Europe but the fact the Lisnabreeny memorial was a Northern Ireland initiative and not an American one made it “more special.”
She added: “It is very nice gesture.”
ourside belfast
