US officials honor UK man who tends memorial of US Airmen

Tony Foulds sits next to a memorial honouring 10 U.S. airmen who died in a plane crash in Endcliffe Park, Sheffield, England, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019. Foulds was just a kid running around in the park on Feb. 22, 1944 when a U.S. Air Force crew decided to crash and die rather than take the chance of hitting them. He's dreamed of honoring them for decades. Now he's 82 and about to get his wish. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

F-15 planes seen from Endcliffe Park in Sheffield, as warplanes from Britain and the United States stage a flypast tribute to Tony Foulds, and ten dead US airmen, 75-years after Foulds witnessed the crash that killed them. Foulds was just a child playing in the park on Feb. 22, 1944, when a U.S. Air Force crew decided to crash and die rather than take the chance of hitting the playing children. For decades Foulds has tended a memorial dedicated to honouring the 10 U.S. airmen who died in the plane crash at Endcliffe Park, and today the flypast fulfils his wish for the men who saved his life. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

U.S. officials have honored a British man who has for decades tended a memorial for 10 U.S. World War II airmen who sacrificed their lives to save children in Sheffield, England.

Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson sent a tweet Saturday thanking Tony Foulds for "remembering and honoring our Airmen." Missouri Governor Michael Parson has issued a proclamation honoring Foulds for his "profound devotion" to commemorating the crew of the B-17 nicknamed "Mi Amigo."

Missouri pilot Lt. John Kriegshauser was attempting to land his damaged plane at a Sheffield park in 1944 when he pulled up to avoid a group of children and crashed into the woods.

Foulds, 82, was one of those children.

The U.S. and Royal Air Force honored the crew with a flypast Friday, fulfilling Foulds' lifelong dream.