Blog: Dermot Cole
German trip provides vet with important find
Published Tuesday, September 8, 2009
•Bernie Harding, the World War II veteran I wrote about recently, didn't find his pilot's wings in Germany Wednesday, but he discovered something even more important.
His story has attracted national attention from the Associated Press, NBC and others.
Harding, 90, is the stepfather of Fairbanks insuranceman Peter Kelley. Harding was shot down over Germany during the war and buried his pilot's wings in a farmhouse basement so the Germans would not know he was flying the plane.
Harding, who lives in New Hampshire, walked through the village where he was shot down 65 years ago. A 41-year-old local doctor took him to four houses that the German physician/historian thought might have been ones where Harding was briefly held captive.
The search proved fruitless, but a resident of the village came forward with a more important relic that should be important to the family of a soldier killed during the war.
As the Associated Press reports, "Klein Quenstedt resident Heinz Kruse gave Harding a gift: a silver bracelet he recovered from the body of a dead American airman on that day in 1944. Kruse took it after pulling the body from a field outside the town, and has kept it ever since. It is inscribed with the name Jack H. Glenn and the serial number that would have appeared on the airman's dog tag."
"He might have been in my group, he may not have been. But I will certainly find out," Harding told the AP. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jGNk4Jk5EQ1cVvj_xpGhxks7GsfAD9AJSSR00
Great story, Dermot. What an amazing man Mr. Harding is - I can only hope to be able to "walk through the village" at the age of 90 as he did, let alone fly halfway around the world to a place I had been over 60 years ago. And how incredible that Mr. Kruse has held onto that bracelet all these years, and was able to pull it out and return it to an American, who will hopefully find the relatives of the airman who perished wearing it. Incredible to imagine, amazing true story.
Keep us updated, will you, as to whether Mr. Harding is able to track down the relatives.
A quick Google of "Jack H. Glenn" comes up with a genealogy entry for someone who sounds a lot like him
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txmata...
Ottercat37, I believe you found him. It is the same town, year, name. Now just have to see if those two sisters or their children are still about.
Mr Cole,
Why have you not used the recources of the newspaper you represent to find the person in question? I am sure you should have more information than your average reader.
off topic
dermot, I have just read and looked at your book on fairbanks history
well done
carry on:)
i went with my partner to the village in the netherlands where his grandfather was shot down during ww2. the village historian took us to the field where the airmen landed. after only one minute or so in that field, the historian kicked up an undischarged bullet, which he gave to us. before leaving the village he also gave us a small box with bits of the plane's control panel, buttons (very sad) and other memorabilia of those terrible days.
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