A World War II American airman repaid a wartime debt by giving 100 bicycles to children in four villages in the English Midlands, the Observer newspaper reported Sunday.

In 1944, Roger Johnson borrowed a bike he found outside a house to get back to his B-17 base at Polebrook, about 80 miles north of London, the Observer said.Johnson, who has worked as a physician in Minnesota and Texas for 33 years, intended to return the bicycle after a bombing raid on Germany, but when he returned to the base, he found it had been stolen, the newspaper said.

Johnson made amends Saturday by giving 100 bicycles to children from four tiny villages surrounding his old base.

"For almost 50 years I have regretted taking that bike," he said at a presentation at the old airfield, the paper said. "It is only now that I have been able to come up with a plan to ease my conscience to some extent."