'I joined Sheffield Endcliffe Park crowd for emotional Mi Amigo memorial flypast, but some were unimpressed'

It is a well known story in Sheffield.

Back in 1944, the crew of an American B17 bomber, named Mi Amigo, died when their aircraft crashed in Endcliffe Park as they returned, damaged from a mission.

And 80 years on, the story is still remembered, not least by Sheffielder Tony Foulds, who remembers the day and believes that the pilot had avoided landing where he and his friends where playing, with the crew losing their lives as a result.

Today, the loss of that bomber crew was marked again on the 80th anniversary of the tragedy, with Tony among those present. He believes he would not be alive today if the crew had chosen a safer place to crash land, where he and his friends were playing on that sad day.

Tony's story keeps the memory of that brave crew alive, and I joined him and many others at Endcliffe Park today, to watch a flypast by the current generation of US air force pilots.

All walks of life were gathered in the park with Tony, men and women, from children to adults.

Among them were also Grahame Barrass, from Thorne, Doncaster, and Dean McDonald, from Parson Cross, Sheffield. Both dedicate their time to remembering the work of both the USAAF and the RAF during World War Two, wearing uniforms from the time and showing visitors the sort of equipment that the bomber crews used.

Grahame had a youngster enthralled, showing him items that would have been part of the B17 crews kit.

He and Dean are both members of the living history group Squadron X, which tried to keep alive the memory of the work of British and American bomber crews. With Tom Hanks' Apple TV show Masters of the Air currently receiving critical acclaim, their work seems quite fashionable at present.

But neither they nor Tony, who told me of of his memories of 1944 were the main guests. And the biggest tribute to the brave aircrew was Tony's words to me. He told me: "I owe them my life."

"This will make me cry, I can tell you that," he said. "These died for me. They certainly died for me and I feel the guilt now as I did when it first happened.

"I can remember it like yesterday. You don't forget these things. It was badly damaged you could see that. He couldn't had got any further than this.

"This crew were the most brave people I've ever come across for the simple reason, and I know a lot of people died, God bless them. but they died when they shouldn't have done. They died because of me and my five lads. If we'd not been on there, they could have lived to a nice old age."

It was a reminder of why we were here - but the main guests were set to visit in USAF F15 jets.

As the aircraft neared, a bugler, who had been standing in front to the park cafe, picked up his bugle, and began the opening notes of The Last Post.

As he started, the crowds turned around, as the first sounds of the roar of jet engines could he heard in the distance, coming from the direction of Hunter's Bar

What first appeared to be dots on the horizon grew quickly, and moments later the outlines of the aircraft soared overhead, a roaring crescendo of noise. Just a few seconds later, they were out of sight, with the sound gradually fading away to silence.

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The Last Post could be heard again. But it was not the only sound. All around the park, the sound of car alarms could be heard, set off by the jets' low flight.

Was it a fitting tribute? My feeling is that today, everyone will know the story of Mi Amigo, as so many people will have heard the roar of the engines. To me, that means, yes, it is a fitting tribute from the latest generation of aircrew.

As I left there were some park users who were less happy with the experience. One, who had not been expecting the flypast, explained that the noise had terrified her dog.

I felt for the animals. But the roar of a jet engine every five years or so seems a small cost compared to that paid for the 10s of thousands of aircrew who lost their lives during World War Two.