This past Sunday, February 22, 2026, against the backdrop of a clear blue sky, United Kingdom Royal Air Force (RAF) members, plus residents of Terrell, Texas and Pushmataha County, and the Choctaw Nation Honor Guard gathered on Big Mountain, north of Moyers, Oklahoma, in remembrance of four British WWII pilots lost in tragic crashes on another February Sunday, eightythree years ago.
Indeed, Sunday, February 20, 1943, was a weather opposite day with heavy mist filled clouds and foggy conditions bringing near zero visibility along the flight path of cadet pilots taking off from the No. 1 British Flying Training Schoolin Terrell, thirty miles east of Dallas, enroute to another training airfield in Miami, Oklahoma.
As RAF Squadron Leader Clifford Medler, recounted the events of that fateful day, those in attendance learned how quickly the normal training event turned tragic for the crews of two AT-6 “Texan” single engine trainers. Wreaths were then laid at the base of the AT-6 monument to honor their memory by Squadron Leader Adrian Pickup and VFW Auxiliary President Jena Parks.
