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| "I Always Felt a Connection..." |
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| Jan Loftis always felt her life was strangely intertwined with her uncle Anthony Burroughs, who died when his B17 crashed near Kusel 9 Aug 1944. "He died two years before I was born but I always wondered about him. Back then you didn't ask, no one really talked about it. I think all that grief that wasn't expressed somehow went into me." And on 15 Apr 2009, Jan finally stood on the site where her uncle died 64 years ago. The 22 year old staff SGT, a top turret gunner, was on his fifth mission when flak near Kindsbach wiped out an engine and put the plane into a spin. Six of the crew survived, but three did not. "Now I can let him go", she said with a tearful smile. |
| WWII Crash Recovery leader Uwe Benkel presents Jan with the buckle from her uncle's parachute harness, found where his body landed in 1944. Also found were a spark plug, gun sight, plexiglass, shells, and metal fragments. |
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| Bravo to the Arbeitsgruppe Vermisstenforschung for the latest in their recovery of US, British, and German WWII crashes in our area. Their ongoing research and recovery efforts since 1988 have provided closure to innumerable families like Jan's. The group also provides educational programs and displays in the area. |
| Uwe Benkel and his daughter Georgina (named after the first pilot recovered by his group), Jan Loftis (niece of the top turret gunner), Klaus Zimmer (primary researcher on this site), and Richard Graff, who witnessed the crash as a boy and helped pinpoint locations in the forest above Kusel. |
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| Jan spoke briefly, and read Psalm 46 (which Anthony's mother had recited daily), the poem "High Flight" which was read at his funeral, and a heartbreaking letter to Anthony's mother from Pilot Lt. Sterling Bristol's mother on the one year anniversary of their sons' deaths. While she spoke, a ray of sun illuminated her uncle's photo for a minute or two. |
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| The Working Group for Crash Recoveries is always looking for helpers, and you won't find a nicer group of people. Contact Uwe Benkel at 06333-602570 (perfect English) or at mu.benkel@t-online.de. The excellent website for the group has comprehensive lists of all crashes in this area with photos, reports, and statistics. Anyone interested in getting involved in local WWII history is welcome. |
| Anthony and his crew. The plane was so new it hadn't even been named yet. |
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