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The search for Sgt John Kehoe

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  • The search for Sgt John Kehoe

    This article was in the Indo last September.

    Irish air ace shot down in 1941 to find peace at last
    Tuesday September 04 2007

    Irish RAF sergeant John Kehoe was just 19 when the World War II bomber he was in was shot down by a pursuing German Messerschmidt over northern Holland.

    There were no survivors of the encounter and his remains, and that of one of the other three crewmen killed in the crash, have lain in the wreckage beneath a field since 1941.
    Since then, his family has fought a tireless campaign -- and it was the death-bed wish of his mother, Ellen -- to bring his body home to be buried.
    At first, it seemed a near impossible task but 88-year-old Margaret (Peggy) Walsh from Tullamore, Co Offaly, was determined to honour her late mother's wishes.
    And yesterday, the dream of burying John, known as Jack to his family, beside his mother came closer to being realised as a €1m excavation project, sanctioned by the Dutch state, began at the crash site. The wreckage will be raised to examine remains and have the family's request for repatriation fulfilled.
    His two nieces and the daughter of his wartime sweetheart were at the site to see the start of the dig.
    The Wexford-born Flight Sergeant John (Jack) Edward Kehoe lay in -- four metres deep, covered by potatoes, and then a tulip field -- was pinpointed some years ago and a simple wooden cross was erected.
    In Holland, such sites are usually left undisturbed, or recovered remains are interred in one of the country's many war cemeteries.
    The cost and feasibility of excavating the wreck held up the work. It also involved getting permission from the family of the other airman killed, Briton Stanley Mullenger.
    Remember
    However, this was a special case and the Dutch authorities say they cannot remember a request like it before.
    Peggy Walsh and her daughters campaigned vigorously to have Jack Kehoe's remains brought home to have "a Christian burial and be laid to rest next to his mother in consecrated ground".
    They were assisted throughout by the Irish Embassy in The Hague, which will later be involved in repatriation arrangements.
    With the support of DARE, a Dutch foundation dedicated to examining the history of air battles above Dutch territory and farmers Dick and Luc Schilder, on whose land the plane was shot down, the family finally found the spot where he lay.
    There were numerous false leads and disappointments along the way. It was thought a road had been built over the crashed Hampden bomber.
    Confusion was added because his name had been misspelled on a stone commemorating dead airmen in northern Holland. Jack Kehoe's ID plate (dog tag), found locally, was so crumpled that he was named as "JEK Shoe" instead of JE Kehoe.
    As excavation machinery moved onto the site yesterday, his two nieces and the daughter of his wartime sweetheart were there to see the historic dig.
    Niece Margaret Tracey, who lives in Naas, Co Kildare, said her mother would have been too emotional to attend the recovery of her brother's body.
    "But she came to Holland many times searching for Uncle Jack.
    "After all this time, we cannot believe it's the beginning of his final journey home; it's what our grandmother always wanted; she never got over his death or never knowing where he was," said Margaret.
    Her younger sister Carmel McGrath also attended the ceremony at Berkhout, together with Sheila Hamilton, daughter of Kehoe's wartime sweetheart and fiancee Mary Wrighton.
    "My mother said uncle Jack had miraculous medals and a rosary with him and she wants them back," Margaret told Captain Paul Petersen, the Dutch Royal Air Force officer in charge of the excavation.
    Delicate
    In the coming weeks, a specialised search team will examine the soil inch by inch for clues. The operation is especially delicate because of fears of unexploded bombs aboard or in the ground nearby in the field, which backs on to the village.
    The residents of Berkhout have been incredibly supportive, say the family.
    "The brothers on whose land it is are wonderful, people lay flowers at the spot every year, the villagers have taken us to their hearts. People in Holland have never forgotten the sacrifices made to defeat Hitler, they suffered so much and are so grateful," said Sheila.
    "My mother told me Jack, whom she always called Paddy, was the love of her life, they were planning to marry; they met when he was doing radar training at the RAF base.
    She told him he didn't have to volunteer for such a dangerous mission -- they were returning from a night mission over Essen in Germany -- but he told her he wanted to go."
    Updates here

    http://www.wkdankbaar.nl/english.html
    sigpic
    Say NO to violence against Women

    Originally posted by hedgehog
    My favourite moment was when the
    Originally posted by hedgehog
    red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

  • #2
    Correct me if Im wrong, but on such excavations a member of the RAF is present as any weaponary is still the property of the MoD.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by pmtts View Post
      Correct me if Im wrong, but on such excavations a member of the RAF is present as any weaponary is still the property of the MoD.
      It says somewhere on teh site that the plane belongs to the RAF. They didn't seem to have anyone at the excavation though.
      sigpic
      Say NO to violence against Women

      Originally posted by hedgehog
      My favourite moment was when the
      Originally posted by hedgehog
      red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

      Comment


      • #4
        Hi there
        It's wonderful to see and read about the lengths that have been gone to, to retrieve the remains of the deceased, but I find the notion that the late Irishman would have to be brought home to get a Christian burial a tad tasteless.The Dutch take tremendous care of the deceased of all nations, including their former enemies and would continue to venerate the memory of Sgt Kehoe, if he were left in Holland.Also, the idea of trying to use political influence to get the project moved on, when there are hundreds of other similar cases in Holland, France and Germany, is unworthy.Expecting priority over all the other cases is a bit much.
        regards
        GttC

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        • #5
          Originally posted by GoneToTheCanner View Post
          Hi there
          It's wonderful to see and read about the lengths that have been gone to, to retrieve the remains of the deceased, but I find the notion that the late Irishman would have to be brought home to get a Christian burial a tad tasteless.
          From the family's point of view he hasn't had a Christian burial heretofore. They want him repatriated because it was his mother's wish.

          Originally posted by GoneToTheCanner View Post
          The Dutch take tremendous care of the deceased of all nations, including their former enemies and would continue to venerate the memory of Sgt Kehoe, if he were left in Holland.
          And now he will be buried in Holland.

          Originally posted by GoneToTheCanner View Post
          Also, the idea of trying to use political influence to get the project moved on, when there are hundreds of other similar cases in Holland, France and Germany, is unworthy.Expecting priority over all the other cases is a bit much.
          regards
          GttC
          Not really. It's how things get done everywhere apparently.
          sigpic
          Say NO to violence against Women

          Originally posted by hedgehog
          My favourite moment was when the
          Originally posted by hedgehog
          red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

          Comment

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