Despite the passage of time, the passing into a new millennia, the evidence of the last great war to cast its long shadow over the world is still being uncovered daily in Europe and beyond. Although those who survived that epic struggle are advanced in years for many the events that they witnessed are as fresh as 65 years or more ago.
Although it is the rule of the virtual museum not to gratuitously display the remains of those who have given their lives in the service of their country on the site in this case we make an exception in order to highlight the need for those who search the battlefields always to be careful that their hunger to find relics does not result in the loss of another missing soldier forever.
Above; Members of the 99th Infantry Division Search Team, more commonly known as "The Diggers". From left; Jean-Philippe Speder, Marc Marique and Jean-Luc Menestrey. Over the past 21 years the group has been responsible for locating 12 US and 6 German servicemen in the former battlefields of the Northern shoulder of the Ardennes. Their first being the remains of Alphonse Sito near Losheimergraben in 1988. The groups objective is clear; to continue to commemorate and honour the fallen of the Battle of the Bulge by ensuring that those who have no known grave are located, identified if at all possible and then finally laid to rest, their relatives having the knowledge that their Father, brother is at last at peace.
The evidence uncovered. The team were once more engaged in their primary task of locating missing members of the 99th Infantry Division. It was this unit that had occupied the location in which the team was now searching. Their quest was being assisted with the help of research by former US serviceman and author William Warnock. They were searching an area within what is now a Belgian Army firing range near Camp Elsenborn, having first sought permission to do so.
They hoped to pinpoint the location in which, in January 1945 an American patrol was ambushed by the enemy. In the firefight that followed a member of the US patrol was killed. However as is sometimes the case, his body was not recovered at the time, their were no witnesses to the location of his body. Thus the events of WW2 become the challenge of the search team to locate.
After an initial search of the area in which the team had identified as a probable ambush site the only find had been a box of German 7.92mm MG ammunition. However for the team even such an ordinary discovery did bolster their confidence that no trophy hunters had been here before them.
Jean-Louis Seel was once more scanning the area when his detector sounded over the area of a shallow depression on the ground. The careful removing of the earth began, a German gasmask canister, with mask still inside was the first item to come to light. The team had located the lost grave of a Volksgrenadier. The subsequent digging unearthed a second German. Both undoubtably members of the 989th Volksgrenadier Regiment who had seen combat in the area against the 99th infantry Division during the fighting of that cold winter of 1944.
The items above include; Standard leather k98 pouches, gasmasks, mess tins, canteens, belts, cutlery and personal items carried in a soldiers kit.
Below: Also crucially the team located two complete identity discs for the soldiers. This discovery of these in unbroken condition clearly evidence that the fallen grenadiers had not been interred by their own side, nor had their loss been confirmed. They were just two of the enemy's "missing", but now they could have the opportunity to lie among comrades in a marked grave.
The work of the 99th Infantry Division Search team goes on. They are all volunteers and their weekends and days away from their paid occupations and families are taken up with the continued search for those who have not yet come home from the war.
Below: The telegram that every Mother dreaded. This is one such example of the news of the loss of a US serviceman to his anxious family. Private First Class Dominick Posillipo, ASN: 32610144 of the 27th Artillery Battalion of the 9th Armoured Division was reported missing after action in the vicinity of Steinebruck, Belgium in December 1944.
His grand nephew, John Lozito of New York, has enlisted the help of the team to solve this, 65 year old mystery.
It is our sincere hope that this soldier, and the other MIA's that the team still strive to locate finally comes home to family and a safe resting place.
Remember, that should your own visit to the battlefields lead to the discovery of items of personal equipment or human remains it is your duty, as the debt of honour we owe those who served and gave their all, to ensure that such remains are reported and recovered. Such discoveries can be passed onto us in confidence and we can then pass this evidence onto the team.
"Photos by Kevin Dougherty. Used with permission from the Stars and Stripes. © 2008, 2009 Stars and Stripes".