Cresh P-47 16.02.1945 Cologne
 

Dear members of the forum,

I need your help once again:


on 16.02.1945 a P-47 D-16 ( 42-76066) of the 365th BG / 387th Sq crashed 3 Miles N-NE of Cologne.
The pilot was Vernon Martin ( O-830270). In MACR 12438 he is listed as FOD ? What does that mean ?


I can't find any documentation to prove if 2nd Lt Martin was KIA or POW. Nor can I find any documentation or information on a grave site. If KIA, where was Vernon Martin first buried ? And where is his grave site today ?
Thanks for your effort, I would appreciate it if you could help me.


Greetings from Cologne
Manni

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Re: Cresh P-47 16.02.1945 Cologne
 

FoD is the abbreviation for "Finding of Death"
This means that immediately after the war his remains had not been found or identified, so he was legally declared dead..
At some stage, they were found because he now has a grave at Laurel Grove Memorial Park, Totowa, Passaic County, New Jersey, USA.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/.../vernon-martin

Sean

Re: Cresh P-47 16.02.1945 Cologne
 

Hello Sean,

Thank you for the quick reply regarding the abbreviation FoD, I was not aware of it.
Regarding the location of Vernon Martin's grave, I believe that the grave in Totowa is more of a memorial slab or commemorative slab and not an actual grave of Vernon Martin.

Firstly, on the FindaGrave site it is said that he was not found. Secondly, the vast majority of American soldiers who were found dead on German territory were buried in the large American military cemeteries after the war (e.g. Margraten). So it would be very unlikely, if he had been found near Cologne after the war, that he would have been transferred to the USA ......I am still at a loss, I will contact the Grove Memorial Park in Totowa....

Re: Cresh P-47 16.02.1945 Cologne
 

My uncle's remains were found one year after his B-24 went down in France. He was buried there for three years and then brought over to the US and re-interred in Arlington National Cemetery.

Re: Cresh P-47 16.02.1945 Cologne
 

Hi,


Lt Vernon Martin is not mentioned as still missing, see


https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaOurMissing


But he is also not mentioned on
https://www.abmc.gov/database-search ????



On Fold3 the Application for headstone or marker for him can be found at
https://www.fold3.com/image/318498524




Best regards


Luc

Re: Cresh P-47 16.02.1945 Cologne
 

He was buried in 1949 in New Jersey.

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87731487/the-news/

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87731786/the-news/

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8773...-morning-call/

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87732357/the-news/

He was first reported missing in March, 1945. He was still listed as missing in an August, 1945 article.


I will see if there are any other articles.

There is also an article on May 9, 1949 which mentions Vernon Martin's body was being returned from Europe along with 16 others from the Patterson NJ area.
The ship was the Army Transport "Haiti Victory" which was carrying the remains of 5328 men who died in Europe.

Re: Cresh P-47 16.02.1945 Cologne
 

Hi Luc,

thanks for your help. Sorry, but the first tip is not quite right. It's a different person, it's a marine with a different service number.

The reference to the application for a gravestone is very interesting, as it shows that it is a bronze plaque, so probably not a gravestone after all, but a memorial plaque. Unfortunately, with the best will in the world, I cannot decipher the handwritten notes on the front and back.

And unfortunately I can't access abmc.gov from Germany, for whatever reason?

Thanks again and best regards
Mann

Re: Cresh P-47 16.02.1945 Cologne
 

Hi Mann,


See my previous reply. There is mentioned that he is not mentioned on

https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaOurMissing


The one which is mentioned was clearly not an USAAF pilot.


Best regards


Luc

Re: Cresh P-47 16.02.1945 Cologne
 

[quote=manniw;311643]Hi Luc,

thanks for your help. Sorry, but the first tip is not quite right. It's a different person, it's a marine with a different service number.

The reference to the application for a gravestone is very interesting, as it shows that it is a bronze plaque, so probably not a gravestone after all, but a memorial plaque. Unfortunately, with the best will in the world, I cannot decipher the handwritten notes on the front and back.

And unfortunately I can't access abmc.gov from Germany, for whatever reason?

Thanks again and best regards
Manni

Re: Cresh P-47 16.02.1945 Cologne
 

... if he had been found near Cologne after the war, that he would have been transferred to the USA.
This is absolutely incorrect. Families were offered to have the remains of their loved ones returned post war. Thousands of war dead were returned to the US. The British and Commonwealth did not do this, but the US did.

Danny

Re: Cresh P-47 16.02.1945 Cologne
 

Type https://abmc.gov, not just abmc.gov. Or google ABMC and click on the link. It worked from Germany until 2 months ago, when I finally moved overseas.

Re: Cresh P-47 16.02.1945 Cologne
 

Hello Roland,

thank you very much for the information about the newspaper reports. In which archive could I research to determine WHERE Vernon Martin was first buried in Germany. Surely the transfer to the USA was done by an Air Force burial detail or other military unit.
Manni

Re: Cresh P-47 16.02.1945 Cologne
 

There is also an article on May 9, 1949 which mentions Vernon Martin's body was being returned from Europe along with 16 others from the Patterson NJ area.
The ship was the Army Transport "Haiti Victory" which was carrying the remains of 5328 men who died in Europe.[/quote]






Hello Roland,
I have since received a response from Laurel Grove Cemetery in Totowa/ NJ. They have sent me the grave map. In this it is noted that 2nd Lt. Vernon Martin was buried with an OVER-SEAS GOVT. BOX to the USA and was buried in Totowa on March 26, 1949.


Please answer me an important question: WHERE can I look up or ask where Lt. Martin was buried in Germany before the transfer to the USA? Is there a Graves Commission or another institution for this ? Under which designation can I see this e.g. in the National Archive?

Thanks for your help
Manni


Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)