Full Story:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chibrknews-crews-responding-to-incident-involving-wwii-bomber-20110613,0,5852034.story

A World War II "Flying Fortress" bomber that crashed and burned in a cornfield this morning had undergone maintenance over the weekend, but investigators say they aren't sure why the B-17 developed problems.

The plane, christened the "Liberty Belle," took off from the Aurora Muncipal Airport at 9:30 a.m. and made an emergency crash landing near Highway 71 and Minkler Road in Oswego after the pilot reported an engine fire, according to Sugar Grove Fire Chief Marty Kunkle.

Ya Lee came up to me yesterday and said, your group is going to be very saddened by this, but a B-17 just went down. Thank God no one was hurt. That's amazing. Must have had the ghosts of the WWII fly-boys still with them.

This hits me like a punch in the face. The pictures I saw nearly had me in tears. It seems another from the greatest generation isn't here with us. No - I'm not making the equivalance of a person with a piece of gear, but I think you can all understand where I am coming from.

I can even place here what I said when I saw those pics. Let's just say it wouldn't be allowed on this forum. But I can say, Oh my god! Heartbreaking. Another great lady gone...

Those pictures make you feel like you just stepped into England in 1942. What a terrible loss, but thankfully the crew escaped injury.