A hero in Cramoisy

The story of a American hero who sacrificed himself for the village of Cramoisy

A neutralisation mission

25 August 1944, while Paris was celebrating its Liberation, mission was launched to neutralise German airfields in the Laon and Reims area. Twenty-three pilots from the 9^th Air Force, a US air formation, take off from their base in Neuilly-la-Forêt (Calvados).

The However, the soldiers were quickly intercepted by about thirty German fightersin the Creil-Clermont-Beauvais sector. Losses were heavy on both sides: many German fighters were shot down despite their numerical superiority, but this was at the cost of eleven American aircraft. Seven soldiers of the 9^th The Air Force nevertheless managed to escape by parachute, some were even hidden by the population, others were captured by the German soldiers.

The sacrifice

Jerome James Zierlein, a 23-year-old Texan, is hit during the battle. He knew his plane was going to crash. Being just above the village of Cramoisy, Jerome James Zierlein chose to take the time to righting his fading aircraft to spare the village before attempting to escape. Being at too low an altitude, his parachute did not have time to open and the body of the 23-year-old Texan pilot was found near the Garenne woods, not far from where his plane had fallen. The remains of the 2^nd Lt Jerome James Zierlein was repatriated to the United States after the war. He is now buried in San Jacinto Memorial Park in Houston, Texas.

Honouring the memory of Jerome James Zierlein

Monte Laster, artist living in Cramoisy, himself a native of Texas, is now working together with the Cramoisy Town Hall to honour the memory of this young soldier. A short film is in preparation, as well as a series of other projects that are intertwined around one desire: to allow, thanks to this work and the funds collected, the restoration of the church of Cramoisy.