Vijay Divas was observed in Rasgobindapur air base in Mayurbhanj district. The death of Air Force personnel who died in an air crash on this day too was commemorated.
On July 26, 1945, 14 aircrews of Royal Air Force (RAF) belonging to this air base had died in a mid-air crash. Both the events were observed at Gandhi Gurukul, Ragobindapur. Shyamprasad Behera and Aditya Patnaik coordinated the programme.
Two aircrafts Royal Air Force B-24 liberator, four-engine bombers, EW225 and EW247, collided at low altitude due to bad weather when they were flying in a training mission, an exercise involving formation of six aircrafts.
The collision led to the deaths of all 14 airmen, including pilots and navigators on board. led by research scholar Anil Dhir while the event was commemorated here with the support of local people, wreaths were laid in the photographs of the dead air crews.
The locals including school children paid homage to the dead airmen who have been forgotten in history. “We have decided that we would erect a museum here in one of abandoned buildings near the airport and invite the family members of the crews to the venue next year,” said Shyamprasad Behera.
According to Dhir, among the deceased while seven were British, the others belonged to New Zealand, Australia, USA and Canada.
“During my research I came to know about such fatal accident in Rasgobindapur. After learning about their names and collecting their addresses I had sent letter to the families of all the deceased and from some the replies were too received. I visited the house of Mathai too. Since their family members desired a memorial service the event is being hosted here for last 5 years,” said Dhir.