Hi All, Was sent this by Patsy the story is in the local paper Patsy took photos of Richards Heastone.. I now have only 2 America services man left to get... Submitted by Patsy Kishler, Fairfield Co. Genealogical Society It is not unusual for genealogical societies to receive correspondence concerning the burial place of an individual. In October, shortly before Veteran’s Day, the Fairfield County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society received an email asking about the burial place of a Richard W. Eastman who was killed in World War II, initially buried in Holland and reinterred in Fairfield County after the war. The email was from Thomas Buttress of Surrey, England. His hobby, or “work of passion”, as he called it, is a project to locate all of the men who fought at Arnhem but are not buried in the main military cemetery at Oosterbeek. He had located all but three. Arnhem is a town in the Netherlands close to the German border. The Battle of Arnhem is the name generally given to the fighting in and around the city of Arnhem and the villages of Oosterbeek, Wolfheze and Driel from September 17 to September 24, 1944. Richard Eastman was involved in the Battle for Arnhem. He was a crew chief in an aircraft which was hit by flak and crashed in Rhenen about 5 miles from Arnhem. He survived the crash but was taken as a prisoner of war and then was killed by a Dutch SS man who was later convicted for the crime. Richard W. Eastman was born 18 April 1923 in Pennsylvania and died 18 September 1944. He was the son of Donald E. Sr. and Bess Eastman. He had brothers Donald E. Jr. and Harold. According to the Lancaster City Cemetery Office, he was reinterred in Forest Rose Cemetery 19 July 1948 in the Eastman Family plot where his parents and brother, Donald Jr., are now buried. My husband, Dave, and I visited the cemetery and located the tombstone. We took photos of it and sent them to Tom Buttress. The tombstone reads: Richard W. Eastman Ohio Tech Sgt 61 AAF TRP Carrier Sq WWII April 18, 1923 September 19 1944 Beside the stone is a WWII flag holder and flag. Shortly after Veteran’s Day, Tom sent me a wooden Remembrance Cross and asked me to place it at the grave site, which we did. The cross is about six inches in height and has a red poppy fastened on it and the words “In Remembrance”. In England, Veteran’s Day is known as Remembrance Day. In Whitehall, London there is a large cenotaph in memory of fallen veterans and on Remembrance Day the Queen and other royals attend a ceremony there. At Westminster Abbey there is Field of Remembrance with many Remembrance Crosses on which names of fallen veterans are written.
Well done mate,that's a really nice post. Good luck with locating the remaining veterans...................
Hi Paul, Thanks Patsy took the photos for me then I sent her a cross which she placed as well...It was nice of her to think of me and send over the story.. The other 2 Airman are harder to find one is in NY and the other in NJ I wonder if its worth adding them on this.. But thanks again Cheers Tom
Hi. Started to sort out my late Father's, Sgt Hayes, WW2 photo's and other docs. He jumped into Arnhem, part of 156Bn The Parachute Regiment 44 Parachute Brigade, his platoon leaders were Mjr Waddy, Cpt Montgomery and Lt Wood.
