Saffron Walden's Anglo-American War Memorial has been added to a list of socially and culturally important local landmarks.
District councillors agreed to add 60 Uttlesford landmarks to its Local Heritage Assets list at a meeting on Thursday, April 22.
The memorial near Bridge End Gardens, which was built in 1954 to recognise the deaths of British and American airmen from World War II, became a heritage asset for the first time.
It is built on land purchased by Saffron Walden Town Council.
Jacqueline Cooper, editor of the Saffron Walden Historical Journal, a publication of the Saffron Walden Historical Society, praised Uttlesford District Council for its decision.
She said: "The Americans stationed here during WWII were fond of the town.
"I think on the whole Saffron Walden does take an interest in its wartime legacy.
"Most, however, are perhaps unaware of the link to the Americans locally during WWII, so giving heritage status to the memorial will help to emphasise this."
Plaques at the memorial note the deaths of British and American airmen stationed at RAF Debden and RAF Boxted, near Colchester.
RAF Debden was a US Air Force base for much of the Second World War.
US airmen in Debden supported British forces during the Battle of Normandy in 1944.
The memorial also names airmen from Saffron Walden who were killed in action during the Second World War.
Other structures from World War II also became Locally Listed Heritage Assets.
Two school air raid shelters in Walden were added to the list.
The ruins of Prisoner of War Camp No 116 at Hatfield Heath were also deemed to be local heritage assets, as was a series of Nissen huts in Great Easton.
A 19th-century drinking fountain on Ashdon Road and an 1845 railway viaduct in Wendens Ambo are among prominent items predating WWII which have also been deemed important.
A Locally Listed Heritage Asset is not the same as a listed building.
Locally listed assets have no special planning protections, although how they can be conserved should be considered in planning debates.
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