Swedish soldiers at ease prior to the religious ceremony
In May 1948, my father was scheduled to attend an AGRC meeting and a religious service at the temporary American Cemetery at Malmo, Sweden. Several AGRC people flew with him in a C-47 from Paris to Copenhagen, and then to Stockholm–including my mother and me. He explained to me that the American military attaché in Sweden was responsible for overseeing the search and recovery of American airmen and was being assisted by ordinary Swedish citizens. The following quotes are from my book A Salute to Patriotism: The Life and Work of Major General Howard L. Peckham:
“An example of this aid occurred in 1943, when a fisherman in Sweden’s waters found the body of an American. The airman was later identified as Vincent A. White of New Jersey, who was killed in action in October 1943, along with other members of his crew. He was buried in the American cemetery in Malmo, Sweden. The respectful fisherman later made a personal visit to the fallen airman’s grieving family in the United States.”
When we left Stockholm early on the morning of Tuesday, May 11, we motored south to Malmo, arriving at about noon. After driving past the historic buildings of the city’s old streets, we arrived at a cemetery where a large area had been set aside for the burial of American airmen.
“Here we watched helmeted Swedish soldiers stand quietly at attention before bowing our heads while Chaplain Pfeiffer, an AGRC colonel, led us in prayer. Howard Peckham then delivered a speech describing the heroism of the airmen buried here, whose planes had crash-landed either on Swedish soil or in Swedish waters during World War II. On each grave was a marker, in front of which was a petite bouquet of simple and colorful wildflowers. The decorations mirrored the Scandinavian disdain for ostentatiousness, but the tribute seemed very impressive nevertheless.That ceremony concluded our trip, and we returned to Paris.”
In a future post, I’ll provide information about some of the other airmen buried at Malmo. I’ll also explain what the former temporary site looks like today.
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