Tomorrow marks the 80th anniversary of the fateful flight of Lancaster ME663.
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On the night of April 9, 1944, seven men from the RAAF 460 squadron embarked on a mission over Denmark, only to encounter tragedy when their aircraft was shot down by enemy fire.
While the incident was almost 16,000km, the death of five men has strong links with western Victoria.
ME663's navigator, Flying Officer Charles Suffren DFC, was born in Ballarat and trained at Air Observers School in Nhill.
He was one of 10,000 young Australians trained at the Nhill Aerodrome.
F/O Suffren was found unconscious in a nearby plantation field. He was transferred to a Danish hospital, but German soldiers seized took him as a prisoner of war.
F/O Suffren died at a Luftwaffe hospital near Frankfurt on February 16, 1945, just seven months before the end of the war.
Flight Sergeant Leslie Harold Chapman, the plane's wireless operator and air gunner, was born in Stawell.
He was one of five men who died after the Lancaster ME663 crashed near the town of Ale in Denmark.
They are buried at the Esbjerg Cemetery in southern Denmark, where a school teacher, Emilie Hendrikson, tended the graves and corresponded with the airmen's families for more than 25 years.
It's a heartwarming tale proving compassion and remembrance can overcome language or cultural barriers.
The story of Lancaster ME663 serves as a poignant reminder of the enduring legacy of compassion and remembrance that emerges from tragedy.