April 28, 2022
On April 28, 2022, Study Group Missing Soldier travelled to the Huertgen Forest in Germany. The goal is to consult with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency about ongoing projects.
COVID19 Pandemic
Furthermore, the parties have not seen each other for quite some time due to COVID-19. Study Group Missing Soldier and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) were unable to continue projects or meet during the pandemic. Joint projects to bring the missing persons home were suspended between 2019 and 2022.
Report April 28, 2022
The meeting starts in a hotel in Simonskall with two DPAA staff members and three members of the Study Group.
After discussing the various projects, we will visit the location of a possible American field grave. This project has been ongoing for some time, and both the DPAA and the Study Group would like to see if any changes have been made to the situation.
We will visit the location where an American soldier was found and recovered. It is the former field grave of Staff Sergeant Grady H. Canup (34093884). SSGT Canup was identified by the DPAA in January 2022.
We will visit the location where U.S. Staff Sergeant Raymond C. Blanton (33644965) was found.
We will visit the location where U.S. Private Joe A. Garcia (37702625) and U.S. Staff Sergeant Cecil Banks (33659950) were last seen. We are investigating both missing soldiers, members from the 9th Infantry Regiment, 60th Infantry Division, Company A.
We will visit the Kall Trail and take a walk from Vossenack to the Mestrenger Mühle.
Afterwards, we head to the hotel to discuss future plans and other pending projects, such as those of Virgil B. Carson and Frederick W. Goempel. Neither of these individuals went missing in Germany, but in the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Everywhere we see the effects of the bark beetle. This small beetle is ravaging German forests and causing massive logging, which eventually limits the damage to the forest. The deforestation is visible everywhere, and it has a direct impact on our activities. Entire forests have disappeared, and the environment has changed significantly. In 2018, 300,000 hectares of coniferous forests were destroyed as a result.