Can You Help?
The aim of this website is to remember those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom and to help family and friends to find out what has happened to them. For this we need your help. Have you got information about a soldier, sailor or airman killed in The Netherlands during World War 2 and/or is buried here? I would appreciate hearing from you, so we can add that person to the website.
Are you looking for information about a relative or friend that was lost in or over this country? If you are looking for information, you can post your inquiry here. I hope to be able to find out more about the person you are looking for.
Contact us via e-mail at information@basher82.nl
The following inquiries have been received:
Lori Tardif and the family of T/Sgt Benjamin Purdy are looking for people who can tell more about this picture.
T/Sgt Purdy was an engineer with the 385th Bomb Group. On July 26, 1943 Ben was loaned to F/O Glenn Duncan for a mission to the Continental Tire Factory in Hanover, Germany. The rest of the crew consisted of:
The Bomb Group was sent to Wesermunde, for which the BG provided 21 planes, among which the Duncan crew, flying in B-17 42-30281. On this mission the BG encountered its first fighter opposition by the German Luftwaffe and three of its planes were lost. The crew of F/O Duncan was one of them. They had to ditch their plane into the North Sea but all ten crew were lost.
It is not exactly known what the circumstances were under which the Duncan crew was lost.
The war dept telegram stated T/Sgt Purdy was MIA over Bremerhaven, Germany. A letter from the group chaplain dated August 23, 1943, states "under control flying low over water shooting flares." A report from the Graves Registration in 1948 states "last seen over the North Sea about 40 miles North of East Frisian Islands". A letter from Washington, dated February 24, 1949 says "exploded and crashed in the North Sea". A picture smuggled out through Spain appeared in a Texas paper sometime between September 1943 and August 1944. Some men are identified by their families as Duncan's crew. This picture was given to T/Sgt Purdy's family in 1949 by the bombardier's wife who said the niece of the co-pilot Lt. William Lehr, who worked for the New York Times and got the original picture from Spain and had it enlarged.
The family of T/Sgt Purdy received this picture of a crew taken PoW, which had apparently appeared in a newspaper in the days following the loss of the Duncan crew. It is thought that members of the Duncan crew are identified on this picture, although it cannot be said with any certainty. Anyone who recognizes any person in this picture, or who can answer the following questions: Who took this picture? When was it taken? Where was it taken? and what happened next? is asked to contact the webmaster.
As of yet
unidentified crew. The names on the picture are,
from left to right: T/Sgt. James E. Soward,
S/Sgt. Charles E. Propst, F/O Glenn F. Duncan,
S/Sgt. James E. Brophy, 2nd Lt. William L. Lehr,
unknown, T/Sgt Benjamin Purdy, Roy Martinez. Anyone who
recognizes anyone on this picture is asked to
contact the webmaster. A larger picture is available (Picture courtesy of Mrs. Lori Tardif)
T/Sgt Purdy is mentioned on the Wall of the Missing at Margraten American Military Cemetery.
His family dedicated a stone in his memory at the Massachusetts Veterans memorial Cemetery in April 2005.
Sgt Cedric Daniel was an air gunner with 214 Squadron. All but one of his crew was killed when their Wellington bomber was shot down on 13 March 1941. Cedric is buried in Groningen. His family has a number of group pictures which has Cedric in them. Unfortunately they are not able to identify him. We request that anybody who recognizes anyone in these pictures contact us, so we might be able to identify him. Large format pictures can be found on this page.
F/O Robert Bridgen was killed on 1 September 1944, while flying an Intruder mission over the southern part of the Netherlands. He is buried in Heesbeen. Robert's family would appreciate hearing from anybody that knew or knew of Robert. You can get in contact with the Brigden family by e-mailing Tony Brigden or through this site.
Irene Roberts's father was with the 115th Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment of the Royal Artillery. She is looking for any information about this unit and her father's participation. If you have any information about the 115 HHA, please contact us.
The Ford family is looking for information about Edward and Joseph Taylor. The two brothers were stationed on the H.M.S. Wakeful when it was involved in evacuating British forces off the beaches of Dunkirk. On 29 May 1940 the ship was torpedoed and sunk, with the loss of hundreds of lives. Edward and Joseph were both killed. Joseph is buried in Ulrum, the Netherlands. Edward is still missing. If you have any information about these two men, please contact us.
Ron Alft is researching the life of his uncle, Cpl. Alvin Jacoby. Cpl. Jacoby was with H Company, 66th Armored Regiment of the 2nd Armored Division from North Africa in 1942 to his death on 22 November 1944 near Geronsweiler in Germany. If you have any information on Cpl. Jacoby or the battle in which he died, please contact us. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Also with the 2nd Armored Division was Pvt. Carl P. Larsen. Pvt. Larsen was with the 41st Infantry Battalion. His grandson Jason is looking for any information and pictures about him. Pvt. Larsen was killed on 1 March 1945 in Germany, and is buried in Margraten. If you have any information on Pvt. Carl P. Larson, please contact us.