Quentin and Kazmer lived their lives never knowing the truth behind the deaths of their comrades-in-arms. In 2002, both received a call from me with the intent of informing them of the tragedy and to extend an invitation to attend a memorial service and dedication of a stone tablet commemorating the deaths of their crewmates.

I called Quentin first. We spoke of that day long ago, and then I had to deliver the news. Quentin took it hard and was audibly shaken over the phone. When I extended the invitation, he initially refused. Later, he was convinced to change his mind by his wife, Katy, and fellow survivor Kazmer, whom he had not seen since 4 August 1944. The two men arranged to meet while on vacation in Florida.

Kazmer I found to be a disarmingly charming man. We spoke for a long time on the phone, and I had forgotten to tell the facts of the mission that day. Unfortunately, that task fell to my German counterpart who I had gotten permission for to contact Kazmer.

On 31 July 2003, 59 years after the case, Kazmer, Quentin and I along with the copilot’s sister, Norma Newson, her husband, Howard, and the sister-in-law of Joseph Lambertus, Arnhild Lambertus, and his nephew, Keith, arrived in Borkum for the ceremonies. I would leave them on the island on August 5th to return home. Kazmer, Quentin and Kay travelled to the mainland accompanied by Bryan’s father-in-law-to-be to travel to the places of their capture. Kazmer would also have a chance to meet the young boy he had encountered on that fateful day. This time, Kazmer brought chocolates, that the “boy,” a retired police chief of Fischerhude, gratiously accepted.

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