September 10, 2024 • 10 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, A favorite listener of the show from Des Moines, Joy Neal Kidney, tells the story of why her uncle, Danny Wilson, was buried three times.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we returned to our American stories. Up next, another
story from our regular contributor and supporter of the show
and recipient of our Great American Storyteller Award, Joy Neil Kidney,
who listens on who our terrific iHeart affiliate in Des Moines, Iowa.
Three of Joy's five uncles lost their lives in World
(00:32):
War Two, a tremendous loss for Leora. Her grandmother. Joy
has dedicated her life to preserving their memory, and today
she shares the story of how Daniel Wilson was found
and buried three times. Take it away, Joy.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Danny Wilson came home on furlough in April of nineteen
forty four after becoming the Army fighter pilot. While home,
he had his picture taken at a studio the silver
pilot swings and gold bars of a second lieutenant pinned
to his dark uniform. It shows him with a solid jaw,
broad shoulders, confident, content serious. Dan's parents, who were tenant
(01:21):
farmers near Membourne, Iowa, also posed him for snapshots beside
their nineteen forty two plymouth with his sisters and only nephew, Doris.
Her first baby Doo in six weeks was tucked behind
Darlene and Danny so her condition wouldn't show. Danny held
Darlene's eighteen month old son in the crook of his
(01:42):
arm like a football. By then, all five Wilson brothers
were serving two in the Navy, three in the Army
Air Force. The middle brother, who was Darling's twin, had
been listed as missing in action in New Guinea since
late November. When Doris learned later that year that Danny
(02:02):
had received his overseas orders, she wrote, Danny, you take
darngood care of you and get back home as soon
as possible. We don't want any heroes in the family,
just all of us home. He was assigned to the
fifteenth Airforce at Foggia, Italy, fourteenth Fighter Group, thirty seventh
(02:25):
Fighter Squadron, the pilot of a P thirty eight Lightning,
but on his nineteenth mission on February nineteenth, nineteen forty five,
he was reported as missing an action over Austria. Danny
Wilson had been missing nearly a year when the telegram
was delivered to his parents in January nineteen forty six
(02:48):
that there was evidence that he'd been killed in action.
The same week, authorities announced that his brother Dale would
likely not be found, and they had made an official
declaration of death. Just the August before. The youngest Wilson
brother had been killed in training in Texas when the
engine of his P forty threw a rod and exploded.
(03:12):
Three of their five sons lost during the war. How
does a family survive that their father, Clay died in
October nineteen forty six of a stroke and a broken heart.
After Danny Wilson's remains had been recovered from a small
town in the Alps, Leora was left with a decision
(03:35):
about whether to have Danny's remains sent home to Iowa
or buried in an American cemetery overseas. She couldn't face
another funeral, and Dale likely would never be found, She
reluctantly signed the papers for burial overseas. Decades later, the
daughter born to Doris asked for Dan Wilson's casualty file.
(04:00):
It contained so much information. The family had never learned
who buried him after the crash, who found him later?
How could you be sure the remains they located were
even his? I was the first to comb through the
military records, where I learned that a British graves Registration
team had captured German Dulog records. Austria was divided into
(04:24):
four occupation zones after the war. Schwanberg was in the
British zone. The British forwarded information that American named Daniel S.
Wilson had been buried in the small town of Schwanberg, Austria,
which was Nazi territory during the war. An American team
(04:44):
traveled through the Alps to locate downed Allied airmen. They
interviewed townspeople in Schwanberg who were involved in the burial
of this Allied pilot. I was the first to contact
the mayor of the village where Dan Wilson was killed,
the first to see a copy of his death certificate
in German, the first to weep at the photo of
(05:06):
his wrecked fighter plane on page forty one in the
Schwanberg History book. In July nineteenth forty six, Schwanberg officials
made a declaration that on the date Daniel Wilson was
declared missing, four planes had attacked the railroad station. One
of them hit a telegraph pole and crashed in a forest,
(05:28):
demolishing the two engine plane. The plane was removed by
members of the German Wehrmacht who thoroughly searched the young
dead American flying lieutenant and kept his ID tags. The
Burgermeister signed an official declaration that Lieutenant Daniel S. Wilson
had been buried in his uniform in a pine casket
(05:51):
provided by the town in the Schwanberg Community cemetery. The
grave was marked with a wooden cross and the date
of death. Only four people were present at the burial,
the inspector or chief of police, the Burgermeister, the grave digger,
and the town's Roman Catholic priest. The declaration noted that
(06:12):
the burial cemetery had been held secretly. When his squadron
in Italy reported Dan Wilson's P thirty eight lightning lost,
his belongings were inventoried. The flight surgeon had filled out
a form on Lieutenant Wilson, adding good Man good pilot.
That August, a report of investigation area's search form was
(06:34):
completed for unknown X seventy three forty one. This unknown
was believed to be Daniel Wilson, but because his ID
tags were not with the remains, positive identification was not allowed.
At this point, both the chief of Police and the
Burgermeister were interviewed for this report. Unknown X seventy three
(06:58):
forty one was disinterred that day from the Schwanberg Cemetery
to be reburied in the new temporary US Military cemetery
at sat of Old, France. By September that Unknown had
positively been identified as Daniel S. Wilson by the following
information on the missing aircraft report for the plane of
(07:20):
which Lieutenant Wilson was the sole occupant. A German new
lag record indicated that Lieutenant Wilson was buried in a
civilian cemetery from which X seventy three forty one was disinterred.
The cross over the grave where he had been buried
was marked Daniel S. Wilson and the date of death.
(07:40):
The statement by a civilian that the ID tags for
Lieutenant Wilson had been present, enabling the marking of the cross,
that Lieutenant Wilson was the only American buried in the
Schwanberg Cemetery, and the lawn remark on the clothing of
X seventy three forty one agreed with the initial and
(08:02):
last four digits of Lieutenant Wilson's military number. On September ninth,
nineteen forty six in the temporary cemetery in France. At
three o'clock in the afternoon, Dan Wilson was reburied between
two unknowns. A chaplain conducted this service after the permanent
(08:24):
Lorraine American cemetery had been prepared. Years later, there was
another similar ceremony when all of those in the temporary
cemetery were reburied, including Dan Wilson. The book Crosses in
the Wind is a poignant story of the men who
(08:46):
followed combat units on D Day processing hundreds of casualties.
The graves registration teams were responsible for the massive task
of collecting fallen soldiers, identifying and preparing them for burial,
and for forwarding personal effects to their families at home.
It's the first hand account of the dreadful but important
(09:09):
job they undertook to care for our war casualties. These
teams located far flung casualties even after the war was over.
This is an important piece of history, important also decades later,
to Danny Wilson's family back in Iowa, comforted by the
care taken with his remains. In nineteen ninety seven, his
(09:32):
sisters Doris and Arlene, widowed farm women nearly eighty years
old by then, were their first in the family to
visit the Lorraine American Cemetery. They were gratified with the
assurance that the remains buried there in plot d Row
five graves seven indeed belonged to their young brother, Danny,
(09:53):
one of the three Wilson brothers who lost their lives
during World War II. Let us never forget yet.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
And a terrific job on the production and editing by
our own Monty Montgomery. And a special thanks as always
to Joy Neil Kidney. Three of Joy's five uncles were
lost in World War Two. And what a loss for
her grandmother Leora, who, by the way, Joy writes so
beautifully about and has told stories about right here on
this show. And the idea that these eighty year old
(10:25):
farm widows would go to Lorraine Cemetery, the American Cemetery
in France, to visit that grave of Lieutenant Danny Wilson, Well,
one day I hope to make the same trip. That's
where my mother's brother is buried, John LaPadula is buried
there too. The story of finding Daniel Wilson here on
(10:46):
our American Stories
And we returned to our American stories. Up next, another
story from our regular contributor and supporter of the show
and recipient of our Great American Storyteller Award, Joy Neil Kidney,
who listens on who our terrific iHeart affiliate in Des Moines, Iowa.
Three of Joy's five uncles lost their lives in World
(00:32):
War Two, a tremendous loss for Leora. Her grandmother. Joy
has dedicated her life to preserving their memory, and today
she shares the story of how Daniel Wilson was found
and buried three times. Take it away, Joy.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Danny Wilson came home on furlough in April of nineteen
forty four after becoming the Army fighter pilot. While home,
he had his picture taken at a studio the silver
pilot swings and gold bars of a second lieutenant pinned
to his dark uniform. It shows him with a solid jaw,
broad shoulders, confident, content serious. Dan's parents, who were tenant
(01:21):
farmers near Membourne, Iowa, also posed him for snapshots beside
their nineteen forty two plymouth with his sisters and only nephew, Doris.
Her first baby Doo in six weeks was tucked behind
Darlene and Danny so her condition wouldn't show. Danny held
Darlene's eighteen month old son in the crook of his
(01:42):
arm like a football. By then, all five Wilson brothers
were serving two in the Navy, three in the Army
Air Force. The middle brother, who was Darling's twin, had
been listed as missing in action in New Guinea since
late November. When Doris learned later that year that Danny
(02:02):
had received his overseas orders, she wrote, Danny, you take
darngood care of you and get back home as soon
as possible. We don't want any heroes in the family,
just all of us home. He was assigned to the
fifteenth Airforce at Foggia, Italy, fourteenth Fighter Group, thirty seventh
(02:25):
Fighter Squadron, the pilot of a P thirty eight Lightning,
but on his nineteenth mission on February nineteenth, nineteen forty five,
he was reported as missing an action over Austria. Danny
Wilson had been missing nearly a year when the telegram
was delivered to his parents in January nineteen forty six
(02:48):
that there was evidence that he'd been killed in action.
The same week, authorities announced that his brother Dale would
likely not be found, and they had made an official
declaration of death. Just the August before. The youngest Wilson
brother had been killed in training in Texas when the
engine of his P forty threw a rod and exploded.
(03:12):
Three of their five sons lost during the war. How
does a family survive that their father, Clay died in
October nineteen forty six of a stroke and a broken heart.
After Danny Wilson's remains had been recovered from a small
town in the Alps, Leora was left with a decision
(03:35):
about whether to have Danny's remains sent home to Iowa
or buried in an American cemetery overseas. She couldn't face
another funeral, and Dale likely would never be found, She
reluctantly signed the papers for burial overseas. Decades later, the
daughter born to Doris asked for Dan Wilson's casualty file.
(04:00):
It contained so much information. The family had never learned
who buried him after the crash, who found him later?
How could you be sure the remains they located were
even his? I was the first to comb through the
military records, where I learned that a British graves Registration
team had captured German Dulog records. Austria was divided into
(04:24):
four occupation zones after the war. Schwanberg was in the
British zone. The British forwarded information that American named Daniel S.
Wilson had been buried in the small town of Schwanberg, Austria,
which was Nazi territory during the war. An American team
(04:44):
traveled through the Alps to locate downed Allied airmen. They
interviewed townspeople in Schwanberg who were involved in the burial
of this Allied pilot. I was the first to contact
the mayor of the village where Dan Wilson was killed,
the first to see a copy of his death certificate
in German, the first to weep at the photo of
(05:06):
his wrecked fighter plane on page forty one in the
Schwanberg History book. In July nineteenth forty six, Schwanberg officials
made a declaration that on the date Daniel Wilson was
declared missing, four planes had attacked the railroad station. One
of them hit a telegraph pole and crashed in a forest,
(05:28):
demolishing the two engine plane. The plane was removed by
members of the German Wehrmacht who thoroughly searched the young
dead American flying lieutenant and kept his ID tags. The
Burgermeister signed an official declaration that Lieutenant Daniel S. Wilson
had been buried in his uniform in a pine casket
(05:51):
provided by the town in the Schwanberg Community cemetery. The
grave was marked with a wooden cross and the date
of death. Only four people were present at the burial,
the inspector or chief of police, the Burgermeister, the grave digger,
and the town's Roman Catholic priest. The declaration noted that
(06:12):
the burial cemetery had been held secretly. When his squadron
in Italy reported Dan Wilson's P thirty eight lightning lost,
his belongings were inventoried. The flight surgeon had filled out
a form on Lieutenant Wilson, adding good Man good pilot.
That August, a report of investigation area's search form was
(06:34):
completed for unknown X seventy three forty one. This unknown
was believed to be Daniel Wilson, but because his ID
tags were not with the remains, positive identification was not allowed.
At this point, both the chief of Police and the
Burgermeister were interviewed for this report. Unknown X seventy three
(06:58):
forty one was disinterred that day from the Schwanberg Cemetery
to be reburied in the new temporary US Military cemetery
at sat of Old, France. By September that Unknown had
positively been identified as Daniel S. Wilson by the following
information on the missing aircraft report for the plane of
(07:20):
which Lieutenant Wilson was the sole occupant. A German new
lag record indicated that Lieutenant Wilson was buried in a
civilian cemetery from which X seventy three forty one was disinterred.
The cross over the grave where he had been buried
was marked Daniel S. Wilson and the date of death.
(07:40):
The statement by a civilian that the ID tags for
Lieutenant Wilson had been present, enabling the marking of the cross,
that Lieutenant Wilson was the only American buried in the
Schwanberg Cemetery, and the lawn remark on the clothing of
X seventy three forty one agreed with the initial and
(08:02):
last four digits of Lieutenant Wilson's military number. On September ninth,
nineteen forty six in the temporary cemetery in France. At
three o'clock in the afternoon, Dan Wilson was reburied between
two unknowns. A chaplain conducted this service after the permanent
(08:24):
Lorraine American cemetery had been prepared. Years later, there was
another similar ceremony when all of those in the temporary
cemetery were reburied, including Dan Wilson. The book Crosses in
the Wind is a poignant story of the men who
(08:46):
followed combat units on D Day processing hundreds of casualties.
The graves registration teams were responsible for the massive task
of collecting fallen soldiers, identifying and preparing them for burial,
and for forwarding personal effects to their families at home.
It's the first hand account of the dreadful but important
(09:09):
job they undertook to care for our war casualties. These
teams located far flung casualties even after the war was over.
This is an important piece of history, important also decades later,
to Danny Wilson's family back in Iowa, comforted by the
care taken with his remains. In nineteen ninety seven, his
(09:32):
sisters Doris and Arlene, widowed farm women nearly eighty years
old by then, were their first in the family to
visit the Lorraine American Cemetery. They were gratified with the
assurance that the remains buried there in plot d Row
five graves seven indeed belonged to their young brother, Danny,
(09:53):
one of the three Wilson brothers who lost their lives
during World War II. Let us never forget yet.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
And a terrific job on the production and editing by
our own Monty Montgomery. And a special thanks as always
to Joy Neil Kidney. Three of Joy's five uncles were
lost in World War Two. And what a loss for
her grandmother Leora, who, by the way, Joy writes so
beautifully about and has told stories about right here on
this show. And the idea that these eighty year old
(10:25):
farm widows would go to Lorraine Cemetery, the American Cemetery
in France, to visit that grave of Lieutenant Danny Wilson, Well,
one day I hope to make the same trip. That's
where my mother's brother is buried, John LaPadula is buried
there too. The story of finding Daniel Wilson here on
(10:46):
our American Stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
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