AirSpeed VW Community Forums
General Forums => Air Speed Lounge => Topic started by: Geoff on September 02, 2005, 01:43:27 PM
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(https://airspeedparts.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fangel.brabantsdagblad.nl%2Fbd%2Fpics%2Fheaderhalifax.jpg&hash=ec4ac1b86f27e1e222e51c7d614e5fb6e0ab4dca)
Well it's been a long time coming, 61 years to be exact.
My Dad, Brother and I are on our way to Holland to unearth the Halifax LV 905 Bomber that my Uncle and his crew died in back in 1944.
Five of the seven crew are still burried in the wreckage some meters down.
I just wanted to thank everyone who helped send emails to the Dutch goverment last year, Every one of them made the difference. I'll be back soon and with a ton of photographs to share from the recovery.
The crash site is under the soil of a farmers feild, See pic below of some of the parts unearthed by his plow.
(https://airspeedparts.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.brabantsdagblad.nl%2Fgfx%2Fgfx_nieuw%2Fkranten%2FBD%2Fartikelvisuals%2F2837068-361590.jpg&hash=52518b47505e9c86aaf114589127ec8fdce93cc0)
The crew.
http://home.hetnet.nl/~pdw34/OHHalifax_Crew.htm (http://home.hetnet.nl/~pdw34/OHHalifax_Crew.htm)
Official site below.
http://home.hetnet.nl/~pdw34/OHHalifaxEN.htm (http://home.hetnet.nl/~pdw34/OHHalifaxEN.htm)
I'll try and give a update if I can find a internet Cafe.
Geoff.
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have a great and safe trip Geoff
Russ
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Have a Great Trip :rockon:
Taylor
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Hey Geoff have a good trip. You should go to one of those weed cafe`s for internet updates and pls smoke a bong full for me :D
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Have a safe trip and good luck :)
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Truly Amazing. All the best G. Good luck
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You didn't even call to say goodbye.... :( :wub: Good Luck, safe trip...
Chester
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this is nothing short of a trip of a lifetime, fer sure. hope it all goes well, g. have a safe trip, and give us an update when ya can.
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Have a safe trip, Hope all goes as planned ;)
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Thinking of you and your family on this one Geoff.
:wub: :wub:
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I remember you mentioning this a while back. Glad to hear the salvage operation is finally getting the green light. Have a safe trip.
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Have a safe trip!
My father was freed by men like your uncle, so thanks to your family.
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this will truly be an amazing, educational, emotional and joyous occasion.
have a great time geoff, and take good care of yourself, your bro and your dad.
cheers to you.
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Cheers Geoff - take lots of video and pics and we'll all get together when you get back.
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My grandmother served in Holland for a time. She still makes the walk every November 11th at the fine age of 85. She'll be proud of you G. Sounds like an emotional trip. Take care and come home soon.
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Geoff,
I know how emotional these things can be, My Great Grandfather was commended for his effort in the war, as he ferried people from Belgium to France Dodgeing the German U boats, also my wifes Grandad was there during the landing at Dunkirk and still lives to tell the tale,
So I wish you a very safe and purposeful trip, and look forward to hearing all about it.
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sorry doubled up
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have a great trip geoff, and good luck to you ,your brother and your dad !
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Hello from Holland, Amsterdam to be exact!
This has been a amazing trip so far. I only have a few minutes so i'll give you the short story.
We left Vancouver at 12pm Sat, 5 min before boarding we were called to the front desk. Turns out KLM (Dutch Airline) found out about our trip to recover the crew of LV905 and moved us upto Business class. Well let me tell you, They sure take good care of you when your in the big seats :-)
Champaine, personel movie player, Order from a breakfast menu, Lamb for dinner........Sorry I was kinda used to being crammed into small seats on flights and eating a day old bun with cheese.
Ok, we land in Holland @7am, We get our rental car and drive 1hr to the town of Hank (Honk) where the crash site is.
We are welcomed by Phillip Dewitt who has spearheaded this undertaking himself (now with the help of many others) The crash site has a sign board with a pic of the plane and a story of what happened. Above fly a Canadian flag a British and a Dutch flag.
As we chat and meet some of the press we hear the sound of bag pipes (For those who know me well will know that my Mother was Scotish and her Grandfather was in the Blackwatch as a drummer on the front lines in WW1) Also the bagpipes were my moms favorite and with her funeral still in my mind (Bagpipes were played there as well) The sound of \"Pipes\" get closer. Turns out by chance there was Dutch Highland (sp) games going on only a short distance away. They heard about the recovery and wanted to play a tribute to the crew.
We watched as they marched while playing from 1/2 klm away, closer and closer until they marched right past the site then stoped at the sign. Here they made a circle while a few speaches were read, The names of the crew were read allowed and the 100 plus people watching were told of the freedom they gained by people like the crew of LV905. A moment of silence passed and then they began to play and march back. It was a very emotional moment.
The next day (Tues) We went to the War cemetary in Nijmegan aprox 1.5 hrs from Amsterdam. At this location there are just over 1000 Canadian soldiers and air crew burried. We laid flowers in front of the headstone that has the crews names on it. Only two of the 7 crew are burried there.
From there we went to Hank to take part in the first digging of the soil. When we arrived we were overwhelmed by TV crews, Newspaper, and other news media. There were 100+ people waiting to see what would happen. The Mayer of Hank spoke as did a few other people then the Digger started! They are only going to remove a foot or so just to let the press see. While this is going my Dad did many interviews as my Brother and I did our best talking to reporters and the public.
After a short while the first part of the plane was found, aprox 10inches X 10inches. It was amazing to see a part of history that has been burried for some 61 years.
It was 30+ out and we needed to go for some drinks, We went to Phillips house where he showed up some fragments of the plane. One of which I was given. Then more reporters tracked us down, These ones from England. Phillips wife called us into the TV room.... the news was on and there was my Dad talking while the digger worked in the background. Wow! It had only been a 2hrs or so since the first interview.
Ok I gotta run....I left out a bunch and I have a ton of photos to show...more updates soon.
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SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT START GEOFF :) WE ARE INTRIGED HERE TO SAY THE LEAST .CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE PROGRESS
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That's awseome Geoff, I can't wait for the whole unedited version of your trip!
Your Mom is with all three of you in Holland.
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wow,
definatly keep us updated
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That is awesome!! Can't wait to hear more. :rockon:
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simply amazing.
you must be very happy to be a part of such an undertaking. way to go geoff & family.
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WOW
thank you for sharing all of this with you :wub: ....your description is incredible.
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Wow !! awesome Geoff!!!
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Hey Geoff,
It's cool to learn a little bit about your families history. can't wait for more updates! any links to the news aritcles?
dwane
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I am glad it is going so well for you guys Geoff.
Every here is constantly checking this thread...WE are all here for ya bud.
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Truly a trip of a lifetime. Ive always wanted to go to Holland. My mother was born there and we still have relatives there. Take lots of pics so we can see what were missing. Have fun and be safe or is that wear a safe!
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Hey buddy,
Sounds truly 'AMAZING'.... like Matt said...your mum is with all of you there.javascript:emoticon(':wub:')
Safe trip.
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WOW what a way to have closure for your dad. what an emotional trip your on. We're thinking of you while your there.
Kevin
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Hey Guys,
Not much to add today as we went into Amsterdam, went on a canal ride and looked at all the buildings from the 1600's. We also went to a few museums to look at the Dutch masters, Rembrant etc.
Tomorrow we are off to England to visit the WWII airbase the crew left from on that last flight 05/44.
Below is a link from the news here.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2005/09/...1203111-cp.html (http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2005/09/05/1203111-cp.html)
Also here is a link to the official salvage page,I think they will be updating pic's daily.
http://home.hetnet.nl/~pdw34/OHhalifax.htm (http://home.hetnet.nl/~pdw34/OHhalifax.htm)
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Cool Jiffy .Save the red eyes for the emtional bits &stay out of them \"Bars\"!We're so jealous.
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Well we just got back into Holland after a few days of research in England. We will be going back to the crash site tomorrow. It looks like more and more of the plane has been found (although very small parts so far) If you click the link below you can see one of the machine guns from what I think is the nose gunner.
http://www.werkendam.nl/index.php?simactio...=11&stukid=1801 (http://www.werkendam.nl/index.php?simaction=content&mediumid=1&pagid=3&fontsize=11&stukid=1801)
This is a few days old info so we hope to see more tomorrow.
See you in a few days.
G.
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Awesome storey Geoff! You got me hooked
Any updates?
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Just got in from Holland and I'm beat! 9.5 hr flight takes a lot out of you, that and the 9hr time difference.
Yesterday was a mixed day, we finally found the area where most of the plane was and had to leave the next morning. We wanted to try and stay a few more days but figured we better let the salvage team do their work.
We arrived in Hank at 3;45 just before they were to have a press confrence and allow the public to see the few parts they had found. A hour before it was to start they hit something with the digger! A propeller!!!!! Soon they had the area cleaned away and a chain attached. The digger was pulling but the back of the machine would lift off the ground. With some more digging out came the left inner engine with propeller.
How do I know what engine it was? They quickly cleaned the ID # and found that it indeed was the engine that sat just outside my Uncles navagation window. Along with the engine there was a lot more debris close by. It was pulled to the surface and placed in a pile to be sorted and cleaned later.
As the press confrence started we arrived, We could see from a 1/2 mile away it was going to be a big afternoon. There were bikes and cars everywhere, News cameras and hundereds of people from the village and surrounding area. Until this time we did not know what had been found. As we walked up you could feel the excitement, the locals were all pushing in closer to take oictures. We started to hear they had found things...... a part from the plane, then a propeller...a engine.. Personel effects!
I tell ya, I have never felt excitement like this before. The hail stood up on the back of my neck as soon as I saw the top of the propeller above the crowds head. Word was out that we were in the crowd and the villagers were all very excited. One lady came to me and said.....
Are you Mr Peterson? Relative to Sidney? Yes I said. Ohhhh I wish this could have been done 50+ years ago.. We owe you ( Canada and the boys who served in WWII) everything, they are our liberators, Thank you! She went on to say \" I remember hearing the planes come over at night and cheering them on, I remember wishing they would come to Holland sooner to liberate us, we owe them everything\" Let me tell you, I almost cried right there. From that point we were doing interviews and chatting with the locals for quite some time.
My brother and I finally got to look at the propeller, It was amazing! The tips were bent (Like you would see in a Hollywood movie of a crashed plane) It was as new! The prop gears were even leaking fresh oil!!!! We made our way to the engine to have a look, It was badly damaged from the crash but there was not a spec of corrosion. It turns out after the crash the plane sunk into the clay within two days, This preserved everything \"Like new\"
We looked the motor over for a long time,You could freely move the rods on the crank, only a few of the pistons were still attached. Turns out it hit very hard. There were people there who told the story of how the pilot tried to make a belly landing with the wing on fire. He came in so close to a farm house that the lady thought she was going to die. As it was about to touch down in the feild the one wing contacted the dyke and sent it into the ground where it broke up and has sat since.
As I walked around one pile of clay I looked down and saw a 303 bullit I went to pick it up and it was attached to many more, many many more! I had found a string of live ammo that ran front to rear of the plane to supply the tail and upper gunner. In this pile was belived to be crew remains, From this came a life raft, Flair gun, flares, Pump for the raft and a few other things. This was just on the surface, you could see much more in there just waiting to be cleaned and sorted.
Unfortunatly it was time for us to go....
I have kept this as short as I can, If you want to hear a little more detail just ask me next time you see me or stop in.
If you would like to drop by the shop I would be glad to show you a few artifacts I have brought back.
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looking forward to the full story Geoff, I'll see you next week some time.
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it sounds like the whole experience just keeps getting better and better.
i am very happy for you and your family geoff.
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Are you at the shop this week?
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I'll be in this afternoon and all day Friday
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that amazing dood
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Now THAT is some good karma right there! Good on ya!
Must have been a real eye-opener eh? :rockon:
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Truly wonderful that you were able to share this with your Dad and brother Geoff.
It must have brought such peace to your Dad. I am just glad that you guys got to do it, and that in this crazy world, governments and the general public still remember to recognize the contribution, and ultimate loss your family and many other families made.
Lost but not forgotten.
Kudos and thank you Petersen Family.
Erin
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Unbelievable Geoff. What an incredible adventure. I can only imagine the range of emotions that run through you. Take care.
Brent
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Just a quick update as today is the last day of the dig.
Most all of the plane has been recovered although in very small pcs. They have now found many bone fragments and a few personel affects from the crew. Today we heard they found a Canadian nickle from 1943, as there were only two Canadians on board and one was recovered in 44 this may have been from my uncle. As well a Pocket watch and a wrist watch were found.
There are many new pictures from the dig that can be seen at the link below.
Look to the top left and you will see Foto's Berging 1 thru 3, click on that and you can see the pic's.
http://home.hetnet.nl/~pdw34/OHHalifax.htm (http://home.hetnet.nl/~pdw34/OHHalifax.htm)
Also below is a article from Saga Magazine that tells the story very well.
Geoff.
Peace at last
In May 1944 an RAF Halifax bomber, LV905, was shot down over southern Holland as it returned from a bombing raid. Now an excavation is under way to salvage the wreckage and recover the bodies of the five airmen who were buried with the plane. Robert Chesshyre reports on the extraordinary effort to repay a
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It sounds like you are having a good time.