15-006 bonus

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Christmas 1944

From his eyewitness account, Mr. van Grinsven said, "I remember when they fetched me to the cloister. We had to sit in a jeep. The lights were covered. We could barely see the road. While we were driving, we heard the air raid alarm. I was afraid. We drove up that silent road upon the hill that led to the cave. The American soldiers were already present. I was surprised that these rough men could be so faithful. The mass was very moving. I couldn't understand their English but I could somehow read their thoughts, their faces,… Who is going to survive? This might be my last Christmas," said Mr. van Grinsven, a Dutch Monk who sang in the choir.
De Schark Christmas Service 2011

The service in the 'grotto of De Schark' will recount how Father Dobrzinski, a priest from New York, led Christmas Mass there in 1944. Then, the caves had no electric lights but were the ideal refuge from aerial bombardment. Approximately 800 Soldiers were assigned in the Maastricht area in Dec. 1944 and went on to fight in the Battle of the Bulge.

At the end of the 1944 Mass, the Soldiers wrote their names on the wall with charcoal, which is now a memorial to them and their faith. Participants in the 2011 service will be able to see this and other tributes carved into the cave's walls identifying names and units engaged Allied Operations in 1944.

The 2011 service will include three U.S. and one Dutch Military Service Members who will light candles in remembrance of Service Members who fell in the line of duty, rendering respect to them and to all those who have sacrificed.

As the candles are lit, the names of these service members will be part of a Roll Call:

Pfc. Billey Abrams, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
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; Staff Sgt. Glen Brady, 379th Bomber Group, Eighth Army Air Force;

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Glen was a ball turret gunner

Pfc. Roy C. Ervin, 320th Infantry Regiment, 35 Infantry Division
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; Pfc. Raymond A. Hogan, 414th Infantry Regiment,104th Infantry Division;
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Pfc. Jose L. Kline, 36th infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Division;
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Sgt. Richard J. Lowry, 406 Infantry Regiment, 102nd Infantry Division;
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Tech. Sgt. Kenneth C. McDonald, 466th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, 17th Airborne Division;

2nd Lt. Clyde V. Proby, 119th Infantry Battalion, 30th Infantry Division;
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1st Lt. Robert O. Stine, 401st Bomber Group, Eighth Army Air Force;
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Aircraft was hit by flak. Flew along burning for about 30 seconds in formation. It went up steeply, then into a straight dive. The bomb bay seemed on fire. Three chutes came out, two of these delayed jumps. The aircraft then exploded.

Pfc. Henry Walker, 17th Engineer Battalion 2nd Armored Division;
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Staff Sgt. Grant E. Allen, 412th Bomber Squadron 95th Bomber Group;

Pfc. David R. Diehl, 335th Infantry 84th Division;
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Pvt. Chin T. Tom, 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 17th ABN Division;
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Sgt. Raymond W. Fritzinger, 614th Bomber Squadron, 401st Bomber Group (H);
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Ray was the left waist gunner on 42-31036 (Nobody's Baby)


and Pvt. Edward F. Keller, 407th Infantry 102nd Division.
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Edward died of wounds sustained in Germany on February 28 1945, clearing the path to the rhine river

All of these Service Members are buried or listed on the Wall of Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten, Netherlands, which is maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission and where, today, all 8,301 U.S. graves and 1,722 names on the Wall of the Missing have been adopted by local Dutch citizens who pass on this privilege and responsibility from generation to generation.

Having corresponded with people from the Netherlands I'm not sure I've seen any people group more dedicated to honoring and preserving the memory of the Allied soldiers who gave their lives for their freedom, even during failed operations such as Market-Garden. The Dutch appear to be dead serious about it.

Bob

What do they do with the markers of the service members whose bodies were repatriated back to the states later? My great uncle was killed just inside Germany in early December 1944, about 2 weeks prior to the Bulge. He was buried at Margraten, but his remains were returned to Alabama in 1948-1949 time frame. My grandmother (his sister) used to correspond with the Dutch family who cared for his grave, even for years after his return. Thanks.