Re: Lt. G. J. Melofchik/Stormy Weather

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                                        <b>Posted:</b><br>
                                        <b>By: </b><a href='mailto:kihcfolem@comcast.net'>Keith Melofchik</a><br>
                                        <b>On: </b>06/08/2004 <br>
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                                    <td style='vertical-align: top;'>Jean Pierre,<br><br>I was glad to see your email in reference to &quot;Stormy Weather&quot;.  Lt. Gerard Melofchik was my uncle.  I never met him as he died when my father was still young and not married.  aI would be very interested in any and all of your information concerning my uncle and Stormy Weather.  One of my first cousins discovered that Gerard was buried in France and then his body was moed to the US.  My grandparents never knew this.  I pasted her email below.  Maybe there is some info you do not have.  Please get back to me as my dad is very interested in what happened to his brother.  Also, if you have any pictures of Stormy Weather that you could forward, that would be great.  I had some that I received from another gentleman here in the US but my hard drive crashed and I lost them as well as his name. I was trying  to find it when I came across your email.  Below is my cousins email.<br><br>Thanks,<br><br>Keith Melofchik<br><br><br><br><br>You may have already had this forwarded to you by Neil, but just in case I send it along.<br><br>I expect some files in the mail any day now.  When I first got back from Paris I did a lot of research.  I will try and pick it up again.  It is our busy season now here at work.  Anyway, I’ll keep you updated.  I may take a walk along the Mall tomorrow to see if I can learn something from the organizations sure to be around.<br><br> <br><br>Do either of you know why Gerard was awarded the Air Medal?<br><br> <br><br>Beth<br><br> <br><br>I just returned from France, where using the information provided by the international visitor from last May, I succeeded in finding the small village where Gerard’s plane crashed and the hamlet where the monument is located.<br><br> <br><br>Located in the Eure et Loire about an hour from Paris (were one able to read French maps, I got lost 4 times, but lovely countryside in which to do so).  I just kept heading in the general direction I thought I needed and eventually I came to Neron, where the plane had crashed.  It is an agricultural region, quite picturesque.  I went on down the road and came to Feucherolles.  The monument is easy to find as Feucherolles is a hamlet, one cross roads, where the monument stands.  It is a lovely setting, chestnut trees and a bench beneath, very peaceful. <br><br> <br><br>Just as my friend and I were preparing to leave, having seen not a soul, an elderly man was walking out of his farmyard.  It turns out that he was 13 in 1944.  August 1 was a foggy morning.  They were all out in the fields bringing in the harvest.  He heard the plane come in, low and loud, followed by a German fighter.  The plane crashed in a field, upside down, but mostly intact, missing the tail.  In nearby Neron, villagers had observed how the pilot endeavored, to avoid crashing in the village.<br><br> <br><br>The crew was buried locally by the Germans.  As France was liberated, the bodies were exhumed by the army and relocated to US cemeteries. This man recounted with some consternation, the exhumation, as the village was not consulted, nor were they consulted or invited when the plaque was erected but a few years ago.<br><br>He shared with us that a British plane went down a few months before, crash landed.  Most of the crew survived the crash, but not the welcome of the Wehrmacht.  The square is named June 16, 1940 in memory of the 40 Senegalese troops who had the misfortune of having to stop there the German invasion and perished.<br><br> <br><br>A most worthwhile journey and as you can imagine, my parents are very pleased.<br><br> <br><br>I carried with me photos of Steve and Pauline, one circa 1940 and one circa 1960.<br><br> <br><br><br><br></td>
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