70-year old camera hoax backfired

[theholeinthedonut]

For the last few days this story has been on the news and the social media all over the world:

70 Years After They Died In Battle, An American Soldier’s World War II Photography Is Brought To Life. Incredible.

The Camera Of A Soldier Killed In World War II Was Just Discovered. You Wont Believe What Was On It.

A Dead WWII Soldier's Camera Was Just Found. You Won't Believe What Was On It. | SF Globe

These Photos Were Just Discovered on the Camera of a Soldier Who Died in WWII | RYOT News

Unfortunately the story was a scam right from the beginning!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...7002927&type=1


I take the freedom to post a statement from the community of the local historical associations, museums etc.



70-year old camera hoax backfired

The undersigned, all members of various WWII/Battle of the Bulge Museums, historical associations, study circles, scholars and serious military history collectors and enthusiasts, all jointly representing the Luxembourg commemorative community are indignant and ashamed that one of their own countrymen known as J.M. “Irondigger” on the Internet (Irondigger`s Homepage and http://www.thetroubl...oters.com/80th/ ) is fooling the world by his treasure-hunting activities and invented stories. Moreover he is thus especially misleading, kidding and cheating on American WWII veterans who fought in Luxembourg/Belgium in 1944/45, their families as well as the American- and international commemorative community by his "sensational" discoveries and background stories, most of them hoaxes and lies.
By the way, metal detecting and treasure hunting in Luxembourg is illegal and dangerous (because of uxos) and “Irondigger” and his associates have thus been violating Luxembourg laws on archaeological research. All his sensational discoveries and fabricated background stories (and there have been many in the past !!) – are partially built on actual original records and are only meant to make him feel important and boastful – especially within the American WWII veterans associations. He is also known to serious collectors and historians to have planted war relics and let his “followers” find them. Thus, by even falsely appealing to sentimentalities of next of kin of KIA soldiers, he is misleading American families, many of who have a relative buried in Luxembourg. By inducing American families to believe stories built around excavated relics (such as the recent 70-year old camera with still a number of developable photos supposedly taken during the Bulge by GI Louis Archambeau (317th Inf Rgt/80th US Inf Div), killed in action in Luxembourg) with personal markings of soldiers actually KIA or MIA during, he is irresponsible and unmoral. There have been many people (usually active US military members) in the past to become victims of his hoaxes.
Unserious research, illegal digging and sensation story scooping by Irondigger not only negatively impacts on honorable and serious historians, researchers and collectors, but on the entire Luxembourg WWII commemorative community and the country of Luxembourg.
The recent camera story outflanks all previous hoaxes. We can prove that the “developed” pictures originate from the National Archives and Records Administration’s US Signal Corps photographic collection – several of the pictures had been published already 30 years ago in history books or displayed at museums! By publishing the photos of the US Signal Corps photographic collection without authorization, J. M. “Irondigger” is also infringing international copyright laws.
We do not see ourselves as prosecutors of Irondigger, but we feel ashamed by his despicable actions to fool and deceive relatives of a KIA US soldier just to make him feel important as a “historian” and as a “professional battlefield archaeologist”, which by no ways of his educational background, is!
The undersigned who have dedicated their lives and all their time to serious historical research JOINTLY protest against the activities and publications of this individual and hope that he finally draws his consequences, closes his internet site and stops all of his actions and unserious research!

Signed:

NMHM Diekirch: (http://www.mnhm.lu)

BoB Museum Clervaux/CEBA: (CEBA.lu : Museum of the Battle of the Bulge)

GREG/Gen. Patton Memorial Museum: (Home General Patton Memorial Museum Ettelbruck)

BoB Museum, Wiltz: (http://www.visitluxe...s-1944-45-wiltz)

NLM: (http://www.alltravel...-photo-44927244)

AMBA; (http://www.amba.lu)

USVFL: (http://www.usvf.lu/D...?pagename=Page1)

Friends of Patton’s 26thYD: (Friends of Patton's 26th Infantry Division - Luxembourg)

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[Mikesm44]

Yeah, I had seen this on a lot of boards, but I had a lot of questions on how the film could have possibly survived so long.