On Saturday, Marty and I made the trip to Princeton, New Jersey, to attend the latest Family Update Meeting pertaining to his Uncle Fred's MIA status during World War II. I have spent years putting together a case for this man, proving that the original investigation into his whereabouts was not at the correct location. (The army review boards never seemed to actually check the coordinates to verify the actual place of disappearance.) My information pinpoints an exact location where a PVT stepped on a land mine. Marty and I walked the spot ourselves last year.
When Marty and I attended our first actual on-site meeting, it became immediately obvious to us that we need to show our faces at these meeting if we expect any type of action on their part. The historian at the time felt confident that we had enough information to initiate an investigation on the part of JPAC.
Well, here we are two years later, attending yet another meeting. The write up included in our folder has gone from one page to two and a half. An impressive amount of data spelling things out quite clearly, (every piece of data was supplied to these people by me. It sure looks convincing when written by a 3rd party!)
This time we had the opportunity to meet with a woman who works with JPAC as well as our army service coordinator and the historian, both of whom were quite familiar with the case. There were lots of smiles, and accolades to my work, but no real commitment to actually follow through on their part.
After sitting through presentations, particularly the one from this woman who is employed by JPAC, where we were informed of all kinds of difficult complications that arise in jungles, and result from air losses, water losses, etc., Marty felt compelled to mention to this lady that our particular case need only involve an air ticket to the area. There was no dangerous terrain or country hostilities, or complicated ground to maneuver. This only requires a walk through with a metal detector to prove that the area was never searched for anyone's remains. That was proven by our contact last year, who managed to pull up a fox-hole shovel, Gilette razors still in their case, a K-Ration can, 3 grenades, and a lot of unfired artillery in about an hour's time. The woman smiled at us, and said that she would talk to the people in charge and see that the case was put on the list for 2012. Considering that we have gone this round before, I'll believe it when I see it.
We did not let our frustration keep us from enjoying the rest of our weekend. We stayed at a lovely B&B in Burlington, New Jersey, and I must say that I don't think that we have ever had such an entertaining proprietor. We spent quite a bit of time laughing with this man, who is well versed in the local history. If you haven't been to Burlington, and you live nearby, you really must consider taking the day to walk through this town with a map from the Burlington Historical Society. The town is really quaint and lovely and holds a wealth of history worth investigating.
Stop at the Cafe Gallery for a bite to eat while you are there. The veranda offers a lovely view of the Delaware River.
Our place of refuge was the Lily Inn. It appears that we cannot escape mention of the dog, even while getting away for the night. But, one thing was for certain, there was no little white dog waking us up in the wee hours of the morning. The resident Yorkie, Harold, didn't so much as bark at us, although he did enjoy coming out and sniffing us when we would walk through the door. We apparently met with his approval.
So we managed to get a refreshing night's sleep, a great breakfast, delightful conversation, and even attended Mass at the local Catholic Church just a few blocks away. The weather was perfect, only adding to the highlight of the trip. All that, in combination with a proprietor who was the "Resident Hugger," I can't help but wonder, "Who could ask for more?"
Here you will find my Military Investigation.
And don't forget to check out the flickr photos at the bottom of the page.
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