The “Forever Promise Project” looking for relatives of three Prowers and Kiowa County WWII soldiers buried in the Netherlands

What happens when all the heroes are gone?  How can we ensure their deeds are celebrated and remembered?  How do we make certain our future generations know what they did?  Most haven’t thought of these kinds of hypotheticals.  Most haven’t needed to.  Instead, think about this specific question; how do you remember America’s WW2 generation?  Many remember that generation as parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends and people in the community.  Maybe you remember them as the core ethos of American identity.  Do you think of them as heroes and liberators worthy of having their memory passed down through the generations?  America is down to its last fifty-thousand WW2 veterans.  How our society remembers them will shape the identity of future generations.  Remembering those that didn’t come back will be just as important and no one has provided a better example for remembering America’s fallen WW2 soldiers than the Dutch people of Margraten.

Prowers and Kiowa counties have three soldiers from this conflict who are celebrated and remembered as heroes and liberators: Technician Fourth Grade Ivan Harold Kerr, Private First Class Harold Henry Kammarcal and Private Edward Osburn Baxter.  These three men were soldiers in the Allied forces that saved the world, liberated the European continent and freed the Dutch people.  Remembering them as heroes and liberators is a fitting title.  They unfortunately paid the ultimate price and all three are buried at The Netherlands American Cemetery outside of Margraten.

T/4 Ivan Harold Kerr

T/4 Ivan Harold Kerr was born March 6th, 1916, to George and Alice Kerr.  He enlisted in February 1940 and joined C Company, 10th Tank Battalion, 5th Armored Division.  He was killed in action on April 22nd, 1945, near Tramm, Germany and was awarded the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster.  He was survived by his brothers and sisters Noel, James, Albert, Louis, Edna, Wanda, Edith, Christy and Georgie.

PFC Harold Henry Kammarcal

PFC Harold Henry Kammarcal was born on September 11th, 1922, to Henry and Sarah Kammarcal.  He was part of A Company, 1st Battalion, 406th Infantry Regiment, 102 Infantry Division.  He was Killed in Action on November 17th, 1944, near Immendorf, Germany.  He was survived by his brother and sisters Robert, Lucille and Clara.

Pt. Edward Osburn Baxter

Pt. Edward Osburn Baxter was born on December 15th, 1924, in Eads, CO to Roy and Lenervie Baxter.  He attended high school for one year and before enlisting on August 10th, 1943, he was a driver.  Pt. Baxter was part of the 771st Tank Destroyer Battalion.  He died of injuries on April 12th, 1945, while involved in the fighting east of Hanover, Germany.

There are 10,000 American soldiers buried, or remembered on The Wall Of The Missing, at this cemetery and the Dutch refer to every single soldier as a hero and a liberator.  For 80-years this community has adopted all ten-thousand soldiers’ gravesites. Each family makes frequent trips throughout the year to visit their adopted soldiers’ gravesite, placing flowers and letting their soldier know he’s not forgotten and what he did is still remembered.  Responsibility for keeping each soldiers’ memory alive and what they did for the world passes down through the families.  

Each year at the cemetery, this community holds a large service on Memorial Day and a concert on the day they were liberated by American forces in September 1944, titled ‘Liberation Concert’.  I’ve been to the annual Liberation Concert and it’s a moving site to see people of a foreign country honoring and maintaining the memory of America’s fallen WW2 soldiers.  If ever there were a pilgrimage for Americans to undertake this event is certainly worth considering.

These Dutch families that keep our American soldiers’ memories alive would like to be in-touch with the surviving family members.  This article will hopefully serve as a lighthouse to help connect the descendants of these three solders with their Dutch adopters.  If the soldiers above are recognized as family members please know that there’s a Dutch family wanting to connect with you.  If one of these soldiers is your family member there’s an organization that will facilitate the introduction, The Forever Promise Project (www.foreverpromise.org).  This organization is managed by a noted WW2 historian, Robert Edsel, and his organization The Monuments Men and Women Foundation – you’ll be in good hands.  How we remember the fallen soldiers from this conflict matters.  Their memory is in great hands with the Dutch people but will hopefully be in capable hands with their families and future generations of Americans.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Dutch Adoption Program you can visit their website, https://www.adoptiegraven-margraten.nl/

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