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The Quest for Harry Pattrin, GI |
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My name is Rik Willemse from the Netherlands. Since 2000 I am researching American inscriptions from WW-2 in the caves of Mt. St. Peter in Maastricht, Netherlands. I have written a book about this and at the moment looking for a publisher for this. Can you help ? email me at rikwillemse@yahoo.com |
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Inscription made by Robert S. Brewster, Salt Lake City, Utah. He was in HQ 9th Army. |
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Mr. Brewster is on the extreme right in this picture. Second from the left is Woody Bienfang, fourth from the left Robert P. Steiner. |
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Emmet F. Keller, Iuka, Kansas, engraved his name in a Catholic chapel, deep inside the caves. |
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Mr. Keller between two comrades-in-arms. His memories include the "Battle of the Bulge". |
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Funny how life can go. We write August of 2000. I was conducting a guided tour through the caves, when I met an American couple who told me an uncle of the lady, a man called S/Sgt Harry A. Pattrin, form St. Louis, MO, had been in the caves during WW-2. She was sure he left his name somewhere on the wall, if I knew where ? Well, I didn't and still don't. In the meanwhile I have collected some 400 U.S. inscriptions from WW-2, and have been able to track some 25 still living veterans down, and some 35 relatives of veterans who either have died before war's end or have died after the war. Somewhere along the line, the realisation struck I had the historical obligation to write all their stories down. This became my book " The Quest for Harry Pattrin, GI" Sofar I have not been able to find a publisher and that's the reason I have started to build this site. Can anybody help ? I am getting pretty desperate, slowly my contacts are getting older, one of them died quite recently, and I really would want to publish as a number of them are still alive, a tribute to them, if you will!!!!!! |
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A tribute to |
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Pictured above is capt. (ret) Egbert Barron White, of Paducah, Kentucky. He is a former member of the 29th Tactical Air Command, and used to be stationed in Maastricht, Netherlands, during the war. Mr. White died March 29th, 2004, just after having celebrated his 90th birthday. I had the privilige of meeting him and his wife Zelma in June of 2003 in their hometown Paducah. |
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Not all of the men who were in the caves right after the liberation of Maastricht on September 14th, 1944 by the U.S. 30th Divison "Old Hicory", survived the war. Pfc. Woodrow Jones, Salinas, California, wrote his name on the wall and was killed some 14 days later. He has found his last resting place on the U.S. cemetery at Henri Chapelle, Belgium. |
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