“The objects of quests require great exertion on the part of the hero, and the overcoming of many obstacles, typically including much travel”
Wikipedia
What began over 30 years ago as a personal quest for information on a deceased family member, is suddenly turning into a project fulfilling a calling.
As a young boy in the early 1960’s, I used to look at the picture of the handsome young soldier hanging on my mother’s living room wall. I was too young to understand anything about him then, other than he was my mother’s brother – my uncle, whom I never met. It wasn’t until I was in my early 20’s, and stationed with the US Army in Germany, that his presence was felt compelling me to find out more about him. I had learned only a few years earlier that he was a paratrooper in the Army and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. I had also learned that he had been taken prisoner and later died in a POW Camp. Beyond that, there wasn’t much else that I was told, or that my mother knew for that matter. The desire to learn more about him came to me suddenly one day while I was out with my unit on maneuvers and training. I had suddenly felt overwhelmed with his presence to the point that I told my sergeant about it. There was a feeling that he was trying to talk to me.
I didn’t understand the meaning of it then, but after a couple more times, I decided I needed to find out more about him, and how he died. But over the past 30 years, frequent dead ends in the research process due to limited to no information created frustrations that almost ended this project before it began. This process continued off and on until about 3 years ago, when I realized that I had accumulated enough notes from my research to write a book. But the frustrations continued. Numerous writing blocks also created frustrations and delays in completing a manuscript that was worthy of a book. I could have quit anytime, but something continued to drive me. I found myself racing the clock to finish this manuscript and get it in print. There was a force that continued to push me. Working late every night after my regular job, I wrote and rewrote. Finally, after achieving a point that I figured would be worthy of any publisher, I submitted my manuscript. Disappointment followed the hard work.
Every query and proposal sent was followed with rejection letters; yet something was pushing me on. I took another look at the manuscript. It was written about my uncle and his unit, the 17th Airborne Division, with a lot of military history. Something was missing.
It came to me! Looking back through my 30 years of notes, I discovered that World War II has the most Americans still missing and unaccounted for than any other foreign war in its entire history. 78,000 are still missing and unaccounted for. There is an effort to find the less than 2000 still missing from the Vietnam War, yet Americans are forgetting the 78,000 still missing from World War II. 78,000 families still seek knowledge and closure of what happened to their fathers, brothers, and uncles. I know now what my uncle was trying to tell me. “Do not forget us. Find us. Close this chapter of history.”
We have the technology now to find these souls. We owe it to them, their sacrifice, and their families.
Like a bolt of lightning, it came to me. It came to me to pursue my calling of history and research to help find these 78,000. Every day, we lose hundreds of vets of this period. Valuable information is being taken to the grave the longer we wait.
I am beginning a quest; A quest to locate these 78,000 individuals and bring them home.
