The third image is a letter written by the mayor of Ste. Peravy la Colombe,
the town where their B-26 was shot down, explaining the circumstances of
the crash and the care of the deceased.
Translated Copy
Interment or burial of six Pilots of the U.S. Army Air Force
The mayor undersigned certifies to the following:
Wednesday, June 14, 1944, an American plane with two motors was hit by
anti-aircraft defense and fell in flames near our village, somewhere near
866 yards Northeast. The six pilots were crushed or burned and the
German soldiers in authority succeeded as soon as possible to stay (take)
individual papers, marks, signs, or any plaques that could be of any
identification. The Germans took the pilots bodies almost
immediately and given us the caskets for us to transport in our cemetery.
On four caskets the names of the pilots were written in blue pencil and
also their serial numbers showing no signs of identification and don't
forget the plane was diving down loosing one motor and wing. Two
bombs had fallen an instant before 100 yards from the point where it fall.
We made it our duty to assure an honorable burial to these poor soldiers
dying on the field of honor.
The persons who contributed in digging the graves and taking them away
are: Mr. Raymond Legrand, Maire Canins Gaston and Bourgoin
Paul, Counselor Beaufil Maurice, Secretary Delie Neol, Villalois Joseph,
Chaline Odrien, all of Saint-Péravy-la-Colombe, France. The pilots
were arranged in the following order starting from the left:
Howard R. Hartley, X-XX1577, T42-43-O
Charles P Waddell, X-XX0141, T42-43-O
Lynn T. Cameron, XXXX0903, T42-43-O
Elmer T Neis, XXXX0296, T42-43-A
and the other two names unidentified.
We had the Catholic priest come to bless the bodies. The Germans
refused to give military honors. They came to make sure that the caskets
were in the ground. The next morning alter the graves were finished
I returned to the cemetery with the secretary and the priest who blessed
the caskets with wreaths of flowers which had been placed. Since
that day the flowers were assorted out and planted in the ground and
crosses with names, and two without the names, were placed the 17th of
June 1944. The 18th of August 1944, after the D-Day, our community,
with a few American soldiers and people from the surrounding country, came
to the cemetery to pay their respects in honor of their souls and the
young people put up a plaque which read like this: "To our Liberators, the
French people especially recognize the great courage in the action of the
American Pilots.”
You must not forget that in our community with the presence of the
Germans, every Sunday after religious services a great number of people in
great group visited the pilots grave that were dead to show respect for
the simple reason of the great relation of friendship of the American and
of the French.
The undersigned Mayor certifies the truthness of the above statement
given.
Saint-Péravy-la-Colombe, France
28th of September 1944
The Mayor
/s/ H. Legrand
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Reburied at
Epinal American Cemetery
Lynn T. Cameron, Plot A Row 26 Grave 64
Elmer T. Neis, Plot A Row 18 Grave 27
James L. Picard, Plot B Row 16 Grave 68
Charles F Waddell, Plot A Row 27 Grave 64
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
81 miles (131 Km) from Paris
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