On May 5th, the book presentation of ‘Lenny – A Debden Eagle’ was held at De Verbeelding in Zeewolde, the Netherlands. This special event was attended by three family members who traveled to Zeewolde specifically for this occasion. Mayor Gerrit Jan Gorter introduced the presentation, which was preceded by a moving performance from the local singing group, De Zingende Dames, who delivered a touching rendition of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem ‘Crossing the Bar’.
This poem held particular significance as it was also performed during a memorial service on December 16, 1945, in honor of 1st Lt. Leonard Werner of the USAAF 4th Fighter Group. Lt. Werner had been declared Missing in Action since November 20, 1944, when his P-51D 44-13411 QP-Q crashed into the IJsselmeer near Zeewolde upon returning from a mission over Germany. The crash resulted from a collision with another aircraft, piloted by 1st Lt. Donald Leroy Bennett.
Aviation History Research & Publishing is actively researching the history of three Allied planes that crashed on Zeewolde’s territory during the war. ‘Lenny – A Debden Eagle’ marks the release of the second book in a trilogy exploring these crashes. The first book, ‘Crazy Horse’, focused on B-17GSH 42-30280, which landed in the IJsselmeer near Nulde and was previously available only in Dutch but is now being translated into English. The third book, ‘G-for George’, delves into the story of the Stirling III BF523 of RAF 90 Squadron, which crashed into the IJsselmeer near Nijkerk on May 13, 1943.
During their visit, two nieces of Leonard Werner, Lauren and Elaine, along with her partner Frederick, participated in the Remembrance of the Dead ceremony on May 4th. Earlier that day, they laid a wreath at the monument dedicated to fallen allied airmen in Zeewolde, accompanied by Mayor Gerrit Jan Gorter and members of the Dutch Air Mobile Brigade. Following the book presentation on May 5th, they visited the crash site of the P-51, marked by a memorial pole, to pay their respects and honor their uncle’s memory.