Memorial

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Capt Noah Lewin-Epstein was born in Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine. When he was five years old, his family moved to Jerusalem. There, he attended Hebrew secondary school and was part of the Scouts youth organisation. As a child, he was an aviation fan and spent hours building airplane models and reading about aviation. At the age of eighteen, after completing his studies, he traveled with his brother Jacob to study Aircraft Engineering at the University of Michigan, U.S.A. Two years later, when the U.S. joined World War II, due to his tender age, he needed to present an authorization from his parents to enlist in the U.S. Air Force. He wrote a letter to U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt complaining about wasting time, time that could be used for training and the war effort. President Roosevelt intervened, Noah received special permission, and was drafted into the U.S. Air Force in 1942. He went through flying training, and in early 1943, he served as a test pilot on the new P-51 aircraft. Thereafter, he was sent to Europe and participated in about 90 dogfights. Following the Allied invasion of Europe, in June 1944, he took part in a battle near the French city of Waldwisse, leading a quartet in attacking ground targets. His plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed. Three years later, in January 1947, his body, together with his documents, was found by a French farmer while plowing his field near the city of Metz.

Statement from George I. Ruddell, Major, Air Corps, Squadron Leader:
"On the 17th of November 1944, at approximately 1600 hrs, our squadron was supporting our front line troops, under control of ´Makesho´, and was engaged in attacking German gun positions in and near the town of Waldwisse. Twenty- and 40mm flak was intense, and several positions had been destroyed. Capt Lewin-Epstein was leading his flight (Yellow Flight) on an attack against several of their positions, acting as protection for Blue Flight, which was dive-bombing at the same time. He strafed in a 30-degree dive to the deck, followed by the other three aircraft in the flight. He was just pulling out at zero altitude when he was apparently hit, and his ship nosed into the ground and exploded. Capt Lewin-Epstein did not get out of the aircraft."