Honoring the Miner Crew: A New Memorial at the B-24 Crash Site in Grebenau
The Miner Crew B-24 crash site was dedicated on 27 September 2025. It was very well organized ceremony and we were impressed by the number of people in attendance. We were told a local volunteer Fireman counted 486 at the dedication. The local German Reserve group and USAF Color Guard presented colors. Burgermiester Lars Wicke opened the ceremony. A Pastor spoke and led us in prayer. A brass band played music. We thanked everyone for being thanks for all their efforts and support getting the memorial in place. Andreas Heid took this upon himself to get a memorial in place after meeting all of us on the 80th anniversary of the Kassel Mission last year. We are forever grateful for his efforts.
The memorial is located on land in front of Mr. Thomas Mueller’s home. Mr. Mueller owns the field where the plane came down. He donated a portion of the property in front of his home for the memorial and he will maintain it. A plaque is mounted on a granite stone in remembrance of those lost. A picture of the Miner Crew is in a window box next to the stone and signed by Frank Bertram.
A former history teacher of Andreas came to the ceremony and told Andreas that he would plan class field trips to the Miner Crash site memorial and the Kassel Mission Memorial in Friedlos.
The son of the policeman that helped the German Paratrooper who was on leave capture my father spoke to me after the ceremony. He confirmed that two local Nazi’s intended to kill him and they prevented that by taking him into custody. It was a honor to meet him.
Everyone in attendance was invited to the Exhibition Hall in Grebenau for food and drinks. Lunch was provided by the German Army Reserve Field Kitchen. Andreas, Joe and Marco dressed in their 1944 American Officer gear had a display of equipment and information about the Kassel Mission. We met a lot of great people. It was an honor for us to be there.
It was my first visit to Grebenau. The field where the Miner B-24 crashed is quite small. My father always said when he let go of the controls the aircraft started climbing as the autopilot was damaged. By the time he got to the nose wheel doors to bail out, the airplane stalled and went into a spin. After he bailed out he rolled over on his back and watched it spin above him. He didn’t want to pull the chute for fear it would get tangled in the spinning plane. After free falling and watching the plane for a while, he decided he better look at the ground. He rolled over and pulled the chute immediately as the ground was close. The chute inflated and he swung out and landed on his back. The airplane crashed next to him less than 100’ away. There is a barn near the field and we met the owner. She showed us holes in the barn that have been there 81 years from the plane throwing debris when it crashed. It was amazing to be there and to think of what he went through and how it happened.