Keith, right, and Stephen Sowerby outside the stables used by Easy Company which they packed up to be sent to AmericaA FATHER and son from Aldbourne will fly to America in the autumn to help build a memorial to the fallen heroes of the famous Easy Company.

After months of doubt, Keith and Stephen Sowerby have finally been given the nod to finish the job they started almost a year ago.

Last summer we revealed US plans to fly six Aldbourne stables used by troops of the crack unit as they prepared for D-Day to Taccoa in Georgia.

The state is home to the 101st Airbourne Division and Easy Company formed part of the tough fighting outfit.

The father and son team owners of a furniture restoration firm landed the contract to dismantle and flat-pack the stables.

Before Christmas the stables were flown from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire to the US.

After that the Sowerbys heard little from the US war magazine which was coordinating the project.

But last week a group of around 50 Americans including two Easy Company survivors met Keith and Stephen in Aldbourne.

Now it seems highly likely that the pair will fly to Taccoa in September to re-erect the stables. Stephen said: "All of a sudden it's got very exciting.

"A bus-load of about 50 people arrived in Aldbourne last Monday, including Easy Company veterans Amos Taylor and Forrest Guth.

"They were only here for a couple of hours just to re-trace the steps of those troops but they talked about our involvement in the project.

"Hopefully, my father and I will be flying out there sometime in September."

This year is the 60th anniversary of victory in Europe.

All parties are keen to get the memorial finished by early October.

"Every year the veterans hold a reunion in October.

"A special one is planned this year to mark the 60th anniversary we want to make sure it's finished by then," said Stephen.

He added that preparations were going well.

"The foundations have been built and the skeleton is almost done, so work is progressing well.

"There were delays but that was because people in Taccoa were having difficulties raising the cash."

Easy Company was immortalised in the hit TV drama series, Band of Brothers.

Kevin Shoesmith