Article (newspaper) Middelaar & Plasmolen
Newspaper article Dorpskrant Middelaar & Plasmolen
Edition July 2025
Study Group Searching for Missing Soldier
August 30, 1943; Virgil B. Carson from Buffalo, Wyoming, enlists in the U.S. Army to contribute to the liberation of Europe during World War II. Born on September 12, 1924, Virgil was 19 years old when he enlisted.
Virgil was a Private First Class in Company G of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, during Operation Market Garden in 1944. While observing the enemy from his foxhole during this operation on October 2, 1944, near Mook, he was shot by an enemy sniper. Another American soldier presumably tried to extract PFC Carson from his foxhole, but he too was shot.
Because the enemy occupied the area shortly after this incident, it was impossible to extricate PFC Carson from the foxhole, and he and his comrade remained behind on the battlefield. From October 2, 1944, PFC Virgil B. Carson was listed as missing in action. He just turned 21.
Missing
The Study Group Missing Soldier, formerly the Missing In Action Foundation (M.I.A.), investigates these types of World War II missing persons cases. This Dutch group has been active since 2007 and investigates missing persons of ground personnel within the Benelux and Germany. The Battle of the Bulge, Huertgen forest, and Market Garden are the most likely cases, and the question of “friend” or “enemy” is irrelevant. The group believes that no one would enter a battlefield knowing they would never be found.
Private Carson
Since 2010, the study group has been investigating the disappearance of PFC Carson. After investigation and witness statements, it seems plausible that PFC Carson was last seen somewhere on a plot of land southwest of the Mookerplas lake. The group visits the area several times and sends a letter to a landowner in 2024. After a personal introduction, the group receives permission to search part of the plot.
Search day
After contacting the municipality and the police, the group organizes a search day on June 13, 2025. The day is oppressively hot, and the group searches the plot for about 10 hours, using metal detectors and digging small holes. Various items are found, but unfortunately, no items that point to a field grave.
Don’t give up
That doesn’t mean it stops there. The group is aware that these kinds of studies can take several years and never gives up easily. Excluding areas is also part of the research and gives the group new opportunities in another area. Back to the drawing board…
Read about PFC Virgil B. Carson