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Jim Marsteller
On our trip to Cambridge Cemetery, England, we were with the 392nd Bomb Group on the 50th Anniversary Return Tour. While we were there, we met Henry Vaughn on one of his daily visits spending time at the grave of his Wendling bunk-mate John D. Ellis. Our stop at the Netherlands Cemetery was to photograph the name of Lt. John S. Murphy, who lived in my wife’s hometown of Delta, Pennsylvania A B-17 Navigator with the 486th Bomb Group his plane was shot down, and he was last seen on April 10, 1945. His name is engraved on the Wall of the Missing. Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial is the final resting place of my uncle Pvt. Harold E. Griffith. Uncle Harold was with the 120 Inf., 30th Division, known as “Old Hickory." He was killed four days before Christmas, December 21, 1944, in the Battle of the Bulge. Following in the footsteps of my Uncle Jim and his crew was our final stop at Lorraine Cemetery in France. Many airmen on the March 18th raid on Friedrichshafen still remain here. Karen and I, along with Ben, paid a visit to the grave of Lt Walter C. Raschke. The research road, that has taken us one step closer to finding the answers we seek, is filled with emotional stops along the way. Visiting the cemeteries is one of these emotional stops. As we walked in silence among the white stones and look at the names, we were humbled by the thousands upon thousands of crosses. What were these men like ? Where were these men from? What would they have become? Does anyone mention their names anymore? What about their families? Why weren't they sent home? Many questions with no answers. The road becomes difficult, but we continue through the crosses towards our final destination.
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