AMERICAN servicemen's secret wartime activities at Crom Castle have finally been unearthed.

From December 16, 1943 to June 1944 the 3rd Battalion 28th Infantry were based at Crom Castle but due to the secrecy of the preparations for D Day very little was known about their activities at the time. The soldiers themselves were unaware of what they were preparing for.

At one point it was estimated that up to one quarter of Fermanagh's population was made up of American servicemen and at Crom there were 800 servicemen stationed there at any time.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower visited the US troops in Fermanagh in April 1944 and stopped off at Crom. He also inspected the 28th Infantry Regiment at Portora Playing Fields and visited a land mine school at Celtic Park.

This is an extract from a speech by General Eisenhower at the time: "It was here in Northern Ireland that the American Army first began to concentrate for our share in the attack upon the citadel of continental Europe. From here started the long, hard march to Allied Victory. Without Northern Ireland I do not see how the American forces could have concentrated to begin the invasion of Europe." On Sunday, the Wartime Living History Association with their American jeeps and uniformed personnel visited Crom before travelling to Enniskillen to take part in the St. Patrick's Day parade. � "There is a lot of history here, very much so," said Noel Johnston, manager at Crom Castle, "It is very historical because the Americans were stationed here in 1943. Little was known about them to be honest, until recently. To recreate this is fantastic; Crom has a diverse history and the family have been here for 400 years. We think we could do more on this, particularly in relation to tourism." Mr Johnston recently made a discovery of his own inside the attic of the castle.

"I found an old American helmet in the attic. It is one of the very first helmets made pre-war and the people who have been taking part in today's event say they have never seen anything like it. It is nice finding treasures such as that," he said.

A number of wartime jeeps took part in the event at the weekend. The Willys jeep was produced by Willys and Ford Motor company in Toledo, Ohio with approximately 640,000 being made. They were a common sight on the roads of Fermanagh during the early 1940s and today, brothers Liam and Michael Wallace from Derrylin have two of the jeeps in their possession.

"We have always been interested in history, it goes back to our grandfather. We used to see the jeeps in films when we were growing up and things, and when we had the chance and we got the money together, we decided to buy a couple. Boys with their toys, you could say," explained Michael.

"Old boys with old toys," joked Liam, "Everything fascinates us and that's the problem. It is a never-ending story." "You can't deny the history; the sad part is that 60 odd years men left this place and a lot of them never came back," said Michael.

In a fascinating chapter for a new book on Fermanagh's relationship with G8 Countries to be published in the run-up to the G8 Summit in Enniskillen in June, Vicky Herbert from Lisnaskea has written extensively about the American troops at Crom during World War Two.

Her story captures the frenzied activity during the era, with the erection of Nissan huts, and the arrival of troops known as The Berkshires and Seaforth Highlanders.

An extract from her entry reads: "American soldiers usually wear two dog-tags for identification if they are killed, one to return to their relatives and one to stay with the body. When Bert Robinson, Clerk of Works for the National Trust at that time, was refurbishing the old carpenter's shop in the Forge Yard, he found a lone dog-tag, inscribed: 'Damian Baca. 20847583 142 A -- Mike Baca 814 Dunlop Santa Fe N.M." Ms Herbert has also included interesting extracts from local contributors, such as Dick Fitzpatrick who recalls the troops buying duck eggs from his mother and Barbara Chapman remembering the Americans holding dances in Newtownbutler.

Noel Johnston says he hopes to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Eisenhower's visit to the estate next year.

"It will be a big year, and between us we will have to do something to help keep the history of all of that alive," he said.