Metal Detector Findings in the Huertgen Forest
by Gil Geerings
Foreword: The citizens of Belgium have a great deal of interest in the battles that raged in the nearby Huertgen Forest during World War II since it was quite close to home. So it should not be surprising if some of those citizens went roaming through that forest with metal detectors in hopes of finding interesting souvenirs. Enter such a citizen. Here is his story as it starts with an e-mail:
To: Ernie Herr From
Gil Geerings Vijverstraat 50
2480 Dessel Belgium
First of all great work on your site. I've already spend hours
reading everything. And then I thought you may find my story
interesting. My name is Geerings Gil I'm 26 and live in Dessel Belgium. Last
year I did an extraordinary find near Schmidt in the Hurtgenwald. My story
has been 2 times on the radio and in several newspapers in the US and here
in Belgium. Here is
the story in the newspaper: "The Fayobserver"
Soldier's WWII bracelet is a link to the past
For Gil Geerings, the bracelet represented a
mysterious link to an American soldier in the days of World War II. For the
family he was determined to return it to, the durable ID bracelet stands as
a bittersweet memento from a loved one who died years after his service to
country.
The bracelet, lost and buried in a foxhole in a German forest for more than
six decades, provided few details about its owner. On the front, the name
“William H. Howard” is etched into the weathered brass plate. The
identification number “13188836” is on the back.
Geerings, a 26-year-old bank insurance salesman who
lives in Dessel, Belgium, found the bracelet May 25. Geerings describes
himself as a World War II fanatic. He has built a small museum at his home
from a collection of books, medals, photos and knives of the era. A couple
of years ago, he started searching for World War II artifacts.
Last year, Geerings struck out with a friend for the
Hurtgen Forest, along the border of Belgium and Germany, to search trenches
where the Nazis offered heavy resistance during the war. The rugged terrain
in this western part of Germany was the site of a bloody, drawn-out battle.
Often referred to as the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, the conflict took place
during a cold winter from late 1944 to early 1945.
Geerings happened upon four large foxholes in the forest near Schmidt and
started sweeping them with his metal detector. He got a poor signal because
the ground was hard and full of roots and rocks, so he dug a shovel into the
soil.
“The first shovelful of dirt, he came up with the
bracelet,” said Paul Howard, William Howard’s younger brother, who also
served in the Army during the war. Geerings found a few other items,
including grenade fragments and M1 Garand ammunition clips. But the simple
ID bracelet was the big find. It was not in one piece, but all the parts
were in his shovel.
“He said he was so excited he just cried,” said
Marianne Howard of Fayetteville. She’s a retired schoolteacher and the only
child of third-generation Irishman William “Bill” Howard and his Italian
wife,
Rose. For now, she has the bracelet and its two short links. She plans to
hand-deliver it to her mother, who is in her 80s and lives in Columbia, S.C.
“It’s going to be a nice occasion for Rose,” said her
son, Paul. “She lives by herself down there.”
Tuesday, a day after receiving the bracelet in the mail, Marianne Howard was
storing it in a striped pouch with a U.S. flag on it. Her eyes moistened as
she glanced down at her father’s bracelet on the dining room table. “And
it’s been buried for 63 years,” she said. “None of us know about it. We
don’t know where (my father) got it. It’s just an interesting thing.”
Searching for family: It took some serious
detective work on Geerings’ part to return the bracelet to its rightful
owners. Bill Howard died in 1984 at age 59. “When I was 3, I lost my father,
and so I think if I should receive something from my father — what he was
wearing when he was still alive — this would be like a God’s gift,” Geerings
said in an e-mail. “I think this would be the same for other people, so why
not do some efforts to try to find some relatives and let them have that
feeling?” Using information from a public Army database, Geerings learned
that a William H. Howard was from New Brighton, Pa.
Geerings sent an e-mail to the Town of Beaver
Historical Society, seeking Howard’s whereabouts. The society forwarded his
correspondence to the Beaver County Historical Society. From there, the
correspondence wound up with Alice Kern, a genealogist with the Beaver
County Genealogy and History Center. The center collects yearbooks from
nearby high schools. Researchers found a photo of young Bill Howard but also
saw that he had a younger brother, Paul. After additional investigation,
they dug up a phone number for Paul.
“We do that all the time,” Kern said, “but this one was
special.”
After he was contacted, Paul Howard figured it was a
scam. So did Marianne and her mother. But Marianne remembered using her
father’s ID number as a youngster for a Christmas club account when Bill
Howard was stationed in Germany. And that’s how the bracelet was returned to
its rightful owners.
“It was worth every second,” Geerings said. “It took me about a year, 100
e-mails and 20 letters. I have to say, without the help of some people, I
wouldn’t have found Paul.”
On March 12, Paul Howard received his brother’s
bracelet in the mail. “My grandmother told me that in WWII, all American
soldiers were like Hollywood stars. They were heroes,” Geerings said. “I
think nothing has changed. America is the land of the famous people and
where dreams come true.”
Bill Howard spent 22 years of his life in the service.
Five years before his death, he had undergone three heart bypass surgeries.
What would he have thought about all of this — his forgotten bracelet being
returned from a time when he hunkered down in a foxhole trying to stay
alive? “He would have
been dumbfounded, like I am,” his brother said.
“That’s a long time to be in the dirt. It took a long time to find it and
persevere in finding out who it belonged to.”
Bill stayed in the Army after the
war---made a career out of it. Served in many locations around the world
and then retired after completing the required number of years. Did many
things after retiring; sold insurance, was a prison guard, did telephone
collection, etc