My decision to become a volunteer on this page began when I added a picture of my grandfather to his memorial page. Then I thought "why not share it with his crew members who died along with him. In the waining months of WWII, my grandfather and his crew mates B24 went down after colliding in heavy clouds with another bomber who kept falling back from the formation above and in front of his plane. No one witnessed the accident. When the planes went into 9/10ths cloud cover, neither came out the other side. One plane was confirmed crashed in France but it was always assumed that my grandfathers plane continued to fly in an attempt to reach his base in Tibenham, England. The initial reports were that the plane must have crashed into the North Sea while trying to make it home. 57 years later, I found a very small article in the newspaper that a B24 was found in northern France near the German border. Curiously, I told my mother about it and since I had some contacts as a result of selling products to the DOD, I made a few initial inquiries on how to track this story. I didn't expect much but hey, ya never know.

About two months later, my mother was contacted by the Central Identification Lab in Hawaii (CILHI) as well as the Mortuary Affairs Office on behalf of the DOD (department of defense). A team had performed an excavation of the crash site in the forest just outside the tiny village of Zinswiller, France. The team extracted 50 caliber machine guns buried in the mud and in almost pristine, although bent, condition. The serial numbers were clearly visible when the mud was rinsed off. This was the first confirmation we received that this was my grandfathers plane. DNA samples were provided to the CILHI and tested against many bone fragments that were collected in the excavation. Nearly a year later, we were contacted that indeed, Sherman Andrews body had been identified. Closure arrived just in time for my mother. Unfortunately, my mom passed very suddenly and was not living to attend the repatriation of his remains back to Arlington cemetery along with the other crewmen. Instead, I was able to attend and represent our family in her place. We chose to have his remains brought back to Jefferson Barracks for permanent internment near my mother.

Then, I decided that since I live nearly 10 minutes from JB, it would be easy for me to help others who wished to have photos of their loved ones or to provide pics for those researching genealogy or preserving history. Such a simple and selfish task to provide these photos and what humility and gratitude I've received in such a short while doing the least I can offer.

It's rather obvious that I lean toward the military but I will expand this simple service to other public cemeteries as well. We all have our reasons for helping. I just want to provide what little I can to anyone request one a photo. I'll do what I can. And when I write "we" in my posts, that is for my wife, Sam. She is always with me helping out on long walks are just supporting me as I go alone. We are a blessed couple.

My decision to become a volunteer on this page began when I added a picture of my grandfather to his memorial page. Then I thought "why not share it with his crew members who died along with him. In the waining months of WWII, my grandfather and his crew mates B24 went down after colliding in heavy clouds with another bomber who kept falling back from the formation above and in front of his plane. No one witnessed the accident. When the planes went into 9/10ths cloud cover, neither came out the other side. One plane was confirmed crashed in France but it was always assumed that my grandfathers plane continued to fly in an attempt to reach his base in Tibenham, England. The initial reports were that the plane must have crashed into the North Sea while trying to make it home. 57 years later, I found a very small article in the newspaper that a B24 was found in northern France near the German border. Curiously, I told my mother about it and since I had some contacts as a result of selling products to the DOD, I made a few initial inquiries on how to track this story. I didn't expect much but hey, ya never know.

About two months later, my mother was contacted by the Central Identification Lab in Hawaii (CILHI) as well as the Mortuary Affairs Office on behalf of the DOD (department of defense). A team had performed an excavation of the crash site in the forest just outside the tiny village of Zinswiller, France. The team extracted 50 caliber machine guns buried in the mud and in almost pristine, although bent, condition. The serial numbers were clearly visible when the mud was rinsed off. This was the first confirmation we received that this was my grandfathers plane. DNA samples were provided to the CILHI and tested against many bone fragments that were collected in the excavation. Nearly a year later, we were contacted that indeed, Sherman Andrews body had been identified. Closure arrived just in time for my mother. Unfortunately, my mom passed very suddenly and was not living to attend the repatriation of his remains back to Arlington cemetery along with the other crewmen. Instead, I was able to attend and represent our family in her place. We chose to have his remains brought back to Jefferson Barracks for permanent internment near my mother.

Then, I decided that since I live nearly 10 minutes from JB, it would be easy for me to help others who wished to have photos of their loved ones or to provide pics for those researching genealogy or preserving history. Such a simple and selfish task to provide these photos and what humility and gratitude I've received in such a short while doing the least I can offer.

It's rather obvious that I lean toward the military but I will expand this simple service to other public cemeteries as well. We all have our reasons for helping. I just want to provide what little I can to anyone request one a photo. I'll do what I can. And when I write "we" in my posts, that is for my wife, Sam. She is always with me helping out on long walks are just supporting me as I go alone. We are a blessed couple.