A MOVING tribute to two RAAF airmen who died in 1944 has been followed by the presentation of a precious gift.
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Pilot Flight Sergeant Ron Kerrigan and his best mate and navigator Sergeant Ron Smith perished when their Beaufighter crashed into the sea soon after taking off from Broome on September 18, 1944.
Their bodies were never recovered and the wreckage was not found until recently.
They were members of No 31 Squadron, which was formed at Wagga in August, 1942, and moved to Darwin for war operations.
A memorial to the two airmen was unveiled at Broome's Cable Beach on Thursday.
The service was attended by Wing Commander Jo Elkington, commander of No 31 Squadron, which was reformed at RAAF Base Wagga in 2010 after being disbanded after the end of World War II.
Wing Commander Elkington delivered a squadron commander's address.
Yesterday, she said the sister of Sergeant Kerrigan, Val Bullied, and Ron Smith's sister-in-law, Judy Smith, were presented with a unique and special gift at a dinner that followed the service.
A large pearl shell found growing on wreckage of the Beaufighter under the water was cut in half, with each woman given one half of the shell in a frame.
The shells were presented by the men who recently found the Beaufighter wreckage, Broome Historical Society vice-president Dion Marinis and helicopter pilot Jim Miles.
The Chief of the Air Force Air Marshal Geoff Brown and Wing Commander Peter Gibb, of Air Force Corporate and Community Relations, also presented to the women with official certificates recording the military service of Flight Sergeant Kerrigan and Sergeant Smith.