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    Posted (edited)

    Herrn Louis Becker, Göttingen

    … erfülle ich die traurige Pficht, Ihnen von dem >>> Ihres Sohns Heinrich Mitteilung zu machen.

    In den schweren Kämpfen von 17.09.1918 bei Nancy (??) hat er infolge Artillerie Volltreffers sein Leben seinem Vaterlande opfern müssen.

    Leider was es trotz ??? nicht möglich seine Leiche zu bergen, da das Gefechtsfeld aus taktischen Gründen dem Feinde überlassen werden müsste.

    Die Kompanie betrauert auf ... den Verlust dieses tapferen Soldaten und guten Kameraden. >>>>>>

    Der Gott möge Ihnen in Ihren ... beistehen

    Feldwebel

    Mr. Louis Becker,.

    I fulfill my sad duty to inform you of the death of your son Heinrich. In the heavy fight near Nancy (not sure) on 17.09.1918, he sacrificed his life for his Fatherland. He was killed by an direct hit from artillery. Despite (every effort???) it was not possible to recover his body, as the battle field had to be left to the enemy for tactical reasons. The company mourns the loss of this brave soldier and good comrade. May God be with you in your .....

    Sergeant Major

    Edited by arb
    Posted

    Herrn Louis Becker, Göttingen

    Hierdurch erfülle ich die traurige Pflicht, Ihnen von dem Heldentod Ihres Sohnes Heinrich Mitteilung zu machen.

    In den schweren Kämpfen am 17.9.18 bei Sancy hat er infolge Artillerie-Volltreffers sein Leben seinem Vaterlande opfern müssen.

    Leider war es trotz wiederholter Bemühungen nicht möglich seine Leiche zu bergen, da das Gefechtsfeld aus taktischen Gründen dem Feinde überlassen werden mußte.

    Die Kompanie betrauert aufrichtig den Verlust dieses tapferen Soldaten und guten Kameraden und wird sein Andenken stets in Ehren halten.

    Der Herr möge Ihnen in Ihrem Schmerz beistehen.

    Schl...g

    Feldwebel

    Posted

    Speedytop,

    You have wonderfully sharp eyes to fill in those missing parts of the letter.

    Andy

    Posted

    I'll take a stab at it and say that if tomorrow was Easter, I'd say he rose from the dead and came home to Mom and Dad.

    But, coming back (to life) at Christmas can't be all that disappointing either.

    Posted

    Was his Militärpaß corrected on some other page after he returned from the dead? Must have given him quite a "strange" feeling to see his own death notice and his Militärpaß listing him as KIA. The feelings his family went through .....

    Posted

    Sort of like our singer, Gordon Lightfoot, who's been reported dead in the media at least twice in recent years. He just played the halftime show at the Grey Cup.

    Posted
    Was his Militärpaß corrected on some other page after he returned from the dead? Must have given him quite a "strange" feeling to see his own death notice and his Militärpaß listing him as KIA. The feelings his family went through .....

    Hi,

    indeed, the bit of black paper in picture 9 covers an addition "returned from French captivity...."

    Posted

    Do you have more documents of him and could you show mire pictures of his Militärpaß?

    Is there a document of when his family was notified that he is still alive?!?! Must´ve been THE happiest day in their life!

    Posted

    Here's my suggestion for a rather long-winded title in perhaps somewhat fractured German.

    Es nimmt viel mehr als ein direkter Artillerie-Schlag, um mich unten zu halten.

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