Amos H Behl was born on January 3, 1923 in Fairfield Township, Swift County Minnesota to Carl and Emma Schleuter Behl. Amos was the oldest of six children, two sisters Cora and Marian. Three brothers Graham and twins Norman and Richard. His father was a salesman for the grocery chain in Big Stone, Minnesota and was born in Minnesota while his mother was born in Nebraska. Amos lived with his family on the farm North of Appleton, MN until the family moved to Ortonville, MN.

He was working as a mechanic in Yakima, Washington state when he enlisted in the Army Air Corps on August 26, 1941. He graduated from aerial gunnery school in Shepard Field Texas in February 1942. He went overseas in August 1942 and served in action over France and Germany. He had the rank of Technical Sergeant and was a Top Turret Gunner. Service number was 19058963. Served with 482nd Bomber Group, Pathfinder, 813th Bomber Squadron.

Behl lost his life on November 10, 1943. He was onboard B-17F #42-5793 "Stinky" when it crashed at Brome, Suffolk, shortly after takeoff from Thorpe Abbotts in Norfolk. Heading home to RAF Alconbury, Cambridgeshire, after the mission they were to lead for the 100th Bomb Group was scrubbed (cancelled). This experienced crew from the 813th Bomb Squadron, was part of the only dedicated Pathfinder Bomb Group in the 8th AAF, the 482nd (P) BG. Their Flying Fortress that day was the first American aircraft to be fitted with airborne radar. The British H2S system, used for bombing through overcast.

Soon after takeoff, there was a fire in the cockpit and according to witnesses who saw the plane go down, it had already spread. Being too low to parachute they were heading for the nearby (under construction) Eye airfield. Their plane (probably hitting trees) suddenly nose-dived, crashing into road workers clearing ditches, killing two (Charles Burridge and Walter Clarke) and a workhorse instantly. The other two workmen (William Dixon and Ernest Barker) died later in hospital. On impact, the fire spread to the specialist target marking bomb load causing a chain reaction. This fierce fire combined with explosive ammunition and incendiaries, not only made escape impossible but also rescue of the 13 crew members.

In May of 1947, the city of Appleton, Minnesota established a memorial for their fallen heroes of WWII by naming streets in their honor. Amos has a street named for him. Additional information can be read in the Star Tribune article in the gallery. The mayor recommended street reorganization including naming the streets and avenues after the Appleton war heroes. The council approved the idea. It took nearly a year to put the plan in place, due to shortage of steel to make the new street signs. On May 30, 1947 in a large Memorial Day Service, the streets were renamed in honor of fallen war heroes. Thielke, Mile, Behl, Schlieman, Sorenson... the list goes on. Appleton will never forget its fallen war heroes. On May 21, 1947, Appleton renamed its streets in honor of the World War II soldiers who gave their lives. Behl Street runs North and South adjacent to the Appleton Municipal Hospital.

Amos H. Behl is buried at Plot F Row 2 Grave 45, Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, England. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location. He was awarded the Air Medal for "conspicuous heroism".

COMMENDATIONS: Air Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster

13 military casualties related to the #42-5793 incident on November 10, 1943.

Find A Grave Memorials of crew below:

Pilot: Lt. Arthur J Reynolds, WA

Co-Pilot: Lt. John E Russell, NY

Navigator: Lt. Sheldon V McCormick, FL

Bombardier: Lt. Albert L Rolnick, MD

Radio Operator: Sgt. John D May, VA

Radio Operator: T/Sgt. Robert B Holmes, UT

Eng/Top Turret Gunner: T/Sgt. Amos H Behl, MN

Waist Gunner: Sgt. Laurie C Evans, FL

Waist Gunner: Sgt. William H Landers, AL

Tail Gunner: Sgt. Andrew J Allison, CA

Ball Turret Gunner: Sgt. Leslie N Boling, OH

Radar Mechanic/Passenger: Corp Herman J Kolousek, CA

Radar Mechanic/Passenger: Sgt. Robert G Levi, NC

Four British civilians died:

Walter Clarke of Stradbroke

William “Charles” Burridge of Langton Green, Eye

Bill Dixon, of Finningham, whose horse was also killed, died of injuries en route to the hospital in Eye or upon admission. Death index gives Brome.

Ernest Barker, of Wetheringsett, died at Hartismere Emergency Hospital two days later in Eye.

The 80th anniversary of this tragic crash is on November 10th, 2023, at 10:35 a.m. A small team of dedicated volunteers in the United Kingdom and the United States are planning a very special memorial to honor and remember the 17 men killed in this B-17 crash. All are welcome to attend and support this project. Family of the fallen are warmly invited to contact us to share stories, research or photographs. For more details on this B-17 memorial project and travel recommendations, please click on added by marykake47286 FOLD3 profile below to send a message asking to get in contact with the team via Steve Andrews in the UK and Wendy Rust in the US.

Please use this link for the B-17 Crash Memorial Project. https://www.gofundme.com/f/brome-b17f-crash-memorial-fundraiser

Sources:

www.ancestry.com

www.findagrave.com

www.americanairmuseum.com

www.newspapers.com

www.honorstates.org

www.familysearch.org

https://swiftcountyhistoricalmuseum.com/

Bomber Stories by Ian MacLachlan

Eye Police Report

Overseas Crash Report

Commonwealth War Graves

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.