Or Lost Private Lane?

a new clue from another soldier

Some papers from the National Personnel Records Center arrived yesterday. The records were not Private Goodman's, but those of my great-uncle, Henry Howard Cheshire. Private Goodman and my Grandma's brother had several things in common. Both enlisted from Robeson County. Both left behind two children when they joined up. And both died in September 1944 as US Army privates in the ETO.

My mother can vividly recall my grandmother weeping at the kitchen sink, the War Department telegram with news of Howard's death in her hands. When I was growing up- a boy enamored with planes and ships and parachutes- I'd often ask about Grandma's brother who died fighting the Nazis. The answers were always basic facts: he was killed in Germany driving an Army truck. While trying to piece together Private Goodman's story, I decided to see what I could learn about my great-uncle too.

The two records that came in the mail Saturday contain some new information, and some curious tidbits. They also give insight into the heartbreak the families of the fallen would have felt.

The first record is a "Battle Casualty Report." He died on September 20th, 1944. His "place of casualty" is somewhere called "Germany2." His service was listed as "Infantry," later corrected to "Expert Infantry." No mention of a specific unit or company, even a division. The type of casualty is "Died Of Wounds." It then lists his beneficiaries and who to contact. My great-uncle's wife and family weren't notified of his death until October 23rd, a full month later.

The second record is titled "Report of Death." It has basically the same information, but detailed in a different way. It lists his cause of death as "Wounds rec'd in action." His place of death is "European Area."

The new clue I mentioned in the title? It's actually from the cover letter. It says, "Additional information may be available in the casualty file maintained by the Department of the Army. We suggest you contact the following office for possible assistance: US Army Human Resources Command."

So while I'm waiting on the NPRC to tell me what they have (or do not have) on Private Goodman, two new requests are being mailed off to Virgina. Stay tuned..