Of the eight men aboard the bomber who were killed in action that day, four were only 22 years old, one was 24, two had reached 25, and the oldest would have been 29 if he had lived just one more month. Two of the crew, McCammon and Ohman, hailed from the same state: Minnesota. Otherwise their homes were widely scattered — "from sea to shining sea" — in California, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. But due to World War II they had become blood brothers in combat.

In the silence that followed the angry growls and gunfire of the aerial clash and subsequent crash, Burgemeester Formijne and some other men from the village retrieved the burned and broken bodies of the Americans. Four were in the flaming wreckage (the tail gunner's finger was still clutching the trigger of his machine gun). They brought Ohman the bombardier down from a nearby barn and three other crewmen were found among the rows of potatoes and sugar beets in surrounding fields. Their remains were carried on a horse-drawn farm wagon to the local mortuary. Mr. Formijne managed to obtain special permission from Berlin to bury the eight fliers in the village. He chose a place of honor for their graves: in the center of the walled cemetery next to Opijnen's 17th century Dutch Reformed Church.

Their funeral was held two days later at 9 p.m. The Germans had scheduled it for 11 p.m. — curfew time during the war — to prevent the villagers from attending, but the hour was changed  due to the arrival of torrential rain storms. After the war, Mayor Formijne wrote:

The Germans had ordered that no one except myself was allowed to be present. Nevertheless, the whole population was outside. After the burial, I opened the cemetery for the public and in no time everyone assisted the diggers. When everything was finished, they placed flowers. A few months later, the people brought flowers again and the graves are still covered with them.

Such surreptitious salutes to enemies of Hitler's Third Reich were definitely not appreciated by the Nazis and their sympathizers.

Source: Wikipedia

B-17F formation over Schweinfurt, Germany, August 17, 1943

Northern Europe has enjoyed nearly 80 years of peace since WWII and its five dreadful years of death and destruction, but the conscientious people of Opijnen have kept the memory of those eight Americans alive and have graced their graves with a profusion of flowers and greenery ever since the summer of 1943.

Shortly after the Netherlands was liberated, in May 1945, Mayor Formijne began writing letters to the U.S. Military asking for information about the plane that had crashed on the edge of Opijnen and requesting the names and addresses of the dead crewmen's next of kin. He also wrote to the mayor of St. Paul about the wartime incident and asked for his assistance in locating Lt. McCammon, the bomber's pilot, if still alive. Eventually, Mr. Formijne learned that the men aboard the B-17 were members of the 323 Squadron of the 91st Bomb Group (H). (The initial H stands for “heavy.”) One of the original 8th Air Force units assigned to England, it was based at Bassingbourn, near Cambridge, from September 1942 until July 1945. The diligent Mayor, upon learning that Lt. McCammon had survived imprisonment, renewed their brief acquaintance by mail. Although the two men never saw each other again, they corresponded regularly until Mr. Formijne's death in 1979, at the age of 82. Evidently an exceptionally kind person and a dedicated public servant, Bart Formijne was appointed Mayor of Opijnen by Queen Wilhelmina in February 1938 and served in that capacity until his retirement in August 1955. He was certainly a fine official spokesman for a sharing, caring community. On behalf of its 700 citizens, he wrote to the families of the eight Americans buried in Opijnen's churchyard, described how the villagers had cared for their graves and gently suggested that the valiant crewmen should remain where they had fallen. A former member of the AWCA's Opijnen Committee, Liz Willems, perfectly described the situation: It must have been heartrending for the bereaved families to decide to entrust their sons or brothers, whom they would never see again, to people they had never seen and could never really know. Yet the people of Opijnen did receive the consent of the families and of the American Government. 

Over the intervening decades, a number of Opijnen's adults and many of its schoolchildren have devoted a great deal of time and energy to keeping the fliers’ graves tidy and “ready for guests at any time." Hendrik de Kock (who died in 2003), however, deserves special praise for his continuous efforts to make the burial site representative of Holland's legendary flower power. A lifetime resident of the village, De Kock was 18 years old and working in the fields when the bomber limped into view. Mr. de Kock often recalled the tragic details vividly. Some years ago he was made an honorary member of the 91st Bomb Group and positively glowed when talking about the various delegations of men from that organization who have visited Opijnen with their wives.

The American Women's Club of Amsterdam first heard about the eight airmen in Opijnen in 1949, when Mayor Formijne asked the Netherlands War Graves Committee if any Americans would be interested in attending the annual Memorial Day ceremony for the U.S. Army Air Force men who were buried in his village. A Dutch woman on that committee contacted Mrs. Virginia Delgado, who was then our Club President. In those days, the AWCA had only 46 members. About half of them, including Mrs. Delgado, had lived in the Netherlands during the war. The members were particularly interested in visiting Opijnen and were amazed to hear about the graves there. Everyone had assumed that all the American servicemen who lost their lives here during World War II had been reburied: either in the States or in the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial at Margraten, near the city of Maastricht, in the south of the country. Margraten is the final resting place of more than 8,000 U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force personnel — out of more than 17,000 who died in the Netherlands during the 1940-45 hostilities. Among those buried in Margraten are 40 men from the 91st Bomb Group.

While visiting Opijnen, the women from our Club realized that some financial assistance would be appreciated for the maintenance of the American graves. Since the villagers had taken full responsibility for the burial site, funds were not available from the U.S. Government. Some method of raising money for Project Opijnen had to be found. Then, out of the blue or, in this case, out of the bookcase — came Betty McDonald, the American memoirist and humorist who wrote The Egg and I, an amusing bestseller which was published in the U.S. in 1945. After the war, it was translated into Dutch and 10,000 copies were printed in the Netherlands. At that time, the Dutch Government prohibited transferring money out of the country. Fortunately for Opijnen, Mrs. MacDonald stipulated that all royalties due her from the Dutch edition be donated "to the foundation which takes care of Holland's cemeteries for American soldiers." Because the U.S. Government provides sufficient funds for Margraten, it was decided that a Betty McDonald Foundation should be established. With that understanding, a check for 3,760 Dutch guilders was received by the American Women's Club of Amsterdam in March 1950. Independent of, yet allied to, the AWCA, that Foundation has been administered by a board chosen from Club  members residing in the Netherlands permanently.

Despite regular expenditures, the Betty MacDonald Foundation fund has remained viable through the years because that donation was wisely invested. In addition to contributing toward the upkeep of the American graves in Opijnen, the fund has financed excursions for the village schoolchildren; provided refreshments for them after the Memorial Day ceremonies; and purchased equipment for the school. In 1979, the fund gave 1,000 guilders for wood with which the student's parents constructed a playground. In 1983, the McDonald Foundation contributed 1,400 guilders toward the cost of the memorial plaque.

From 1949 to 1970, the memorial services in Opijnen were held annually and members of the AWCA always attended. Since 1970, the ceremony has been scheduled every five years. The 1983 program altered that pattern temporarily, but Opijnen's officials agreed we should observe the 40th anniversary of the wartime incident that became the first chapter of this to-be-continued story. Through the years, other representatives of the American community in the Netherlands have also participated regularly in the Opijnen programs. Various persons assigned as the American Consul General in Amsterdam have been particularly active. Over the years, they represented the American Ambassador to the Netherlands (who was usually attending the May 30th Memorial Day ceremonies in Margraten), but gave speeches in Opijnen. In 1960, this is what G. Edward Clark, the Consul General, said in his speech:

During the past several hundred years, Europeans traveled to America to find new homes. Some of their sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons returned. Among them have been American soldiers, sailors and airmen — many of whom fell on European soil in defense of freedom. In a sense, you have welcomed these eight men here in your friendly land. You have cared for their resting place as if they were your sons…which in a way they are. Your example and the deeds of these valiant men have taught us one very important lesson: none of us today can live alone — neither people or nations. We must help each other and, if need be, we must die for each other. You, the people of Opijnen have shown that even in death, a warrior need not be alone. On behalf of the relatives of the men who rest here, and on behalf of all the American people — I sincerely thank you.

Traditionally, the American Consul General also sent letters to the families of the eight airmen in Opijnen, describing that year's ceremony. On May 31, 1963, Byron T. Blankenship wrote:

On Memorial Day, as has been the custom for many years, the people of Opijnen and a good many Americans gather in the churchyard of the village in memory of your brother or son made on behalf of all of us twenty years ago. I have participated in this commemorative ceremony and I find that the appreciation of what those heroes gave for their country and for the Netherlands is as strong, or stronger than ever. Yesterday, 107 school children of the village of Opijnen placed flowers on the graves of the eight airmen. Dutchmen and Americans participated in the offer of thanks to these valiant Americans.

Source: Liberation Route Europe

Graves of the soldiers in Opijnen Cemetery, Netherlands