Finally, a memorial for 2nd Lt James F Burch, USAAF
Finally, a memorial for 2nd Lt James F Burch, USAAF
I'm involved with an association down here in the Pays Basque that commemorates the wartime operations of the Comète Line in the area.
Around 290-odd Allied aircrew - shot down in N France, Belgium and Holland - passed through the Pays Basque and were successfully repatriated to the UK via Gibraltar. After D-Day, Comet organised camps in forest of Fréteval where hundreds more camped out in makeshift shelters for weeks and months. Out of a total of some 800 airmen, only one was lost.
During the night of 23-24th December 1943, a party of 10 evaders (3 guides, 2 French agents, a Belgian and 4 USAAF aircrew) attempted a crossing of the River Bidassoa (here) at 1am, tired after a 5 hour trek over the mountains from a small village near St-Jean-de-Luz. Across the river lay Francoist Spain and relative safety. The river was in flood. Entering the river in small groups, the current proved too strong for Jim Burch and Count Antoine d'Ursel (head of Comète in Belgium - whose ID was 'blown') and they were swept away. The Germans found the bodies the following day and put them on display as a warning in the porch of the church at nearby Biriatou. During the night that followed, the villagers covered the bodies with flowers. The next day, the Germans removed the bodies and they have never been found.
This is Jim's story:
Post war, the Count's widow erected a memorial to her late husband. Jim's widow (in Texas) was told only that he'd disappeared during the river crossing - she had no other details.
While researching the history of the river crossings by other evaders, I became aware of this story and also the fact that there was a memorial for one - but not the other.
Our association decided to take on board as a project the provision of a suitable memorial for Jim Burch. We hit our financial target in only 2 months. Tracking down the family members of those involved - 70 years on - took a lot longer - but with the internet, tout est possible!
The Count's memorial (all 300kg of it!) had to be moved from a precarious riverside position to a new site higher up the valley side.
So it was that on 16th April, we were able to inaugurate the new memorial site in the presence of Belgian and American family members, civic dignatories and many locals - some of whom were descendants of Comète passeurs (guides).
It was a moving ceremony - lots of dust blowing around (!) - and finally the two evaders - who fought for freedom in different ways - were now remembered, side-by-side.
Every year, we commemorate the Comète Line in the Pays Basque by walking over the same routes taken by the Comète guides and the airmen. It's an inspirational weekend. Details here.
Around 290-odd Allied aircrew - shot down in N France, Belgium and Holland - passed through the Pays Basque and were successfully repatriated to the UK via Gibraltar. After D-Day, Comet organised camps in forest of Fréteval where hundreds more camped out in makeshift shelters for weeks and months. Out of a total of some 800 airmen, only one was lost.
During the night of 23-24th December 1943, a party of 10 evaders (3 guides, 2 French agents, a Belgian and 4 USAAF aircrew) attempted a crossing of the River Bidassoa (here) at 1am, tired after a 5 hour trek over the mountains from a small village near St-Jean-de-Luz. Across the river lay Francoist Spain and relative safety. The river was in flood. Entering the river in small groups, the current proved too strong for Jim Burch and Count Antoine d'Ursel (head of Comète in Belgium - whose ID was 'blown') and they were swept away. The Germans found the bodies the following day and put them on display as a warning in the porch of the church at nearby Biriatou. During the night that followed, the villagers covered the bodies with flowers. The next day, the Germans removed the bodies and they have never been found.
This is Jim's story:
Post war, the Count's widow erected a memorial to her late husband. Jim's widow (in Texas) was told only that he'd disappeared during the river crossing - she had no other details.
While researching the history of the river crossings by other evaders, I became aware of this story and also the fact that there was a memorial for one - but not the other.
Our association decided to take on board as a project the provision of a suitable memorial for Jim Burch. We hit our financial target in only 2 months. Tracking down the family members of those involved - 70 years on - took a lot longer - but with the internet, tout est possible!
The Count's memorial (all 300kg of it!) had to be moved from a precarious riverside position to a new site higher up the valley side.
So it was that on 16th April, we were able to inaugurate the new memorial site in the presence of Belgian and American family members, civic dignatories and many locals - some of whom were descendants of Comète passeurs (guides).
It was a moving ceremony - lots of dust blowing around (!) - and finally the two evaders - who fought for freedom in different ways - were now remembered, side-by-side.
Every year, we commemorate the Comète Line in the Pays Basque by walking over the same routes taken by the Comète guides and the airmen. It's an inspirational weekend. Details here.
Well done you and your colleagues. With RAFA Sud Ouest I have the privilege of attending a number of commemorations of lost allied aircrew in western France. Only last weekend we were at angles in the Vendee to remember the crew of a Halifax lost 75 years ago
Jim Burch's aircraft commander (1st Pilot) was Bill Whitlow.. His two sons (one of whom was a retired USN A-3D pilot) and a cousin came over in April for the inauguration.. and they met Dominique Aguerre - whose father had guided Bill over the mountains. Apparently, Bill had never spoken of his adventures (they'd been sworn to secrecy) and his sons were thrilled and moved to hear the story for the first time and to see where their father had been. On the Monday following the inauguration, Dominique and I took them over the same route that their father had taken.. An unforgettable day.
Hi sidevalve,
The video you posted of the River Bidassoa in spate is a reminder that - unlike the benign, knee-deep conditions many of us experienced during last September's commemorative walk - a crossing in December in the early hours after a 5-hour night-trek across the foothills of the Pyrenees would have been tricky and unpredictable.
Add to that the requirement not to use torches and one can get some idea of the degrees of difficulty and danger involved.
The video you posted of the River Bidassoa in spate is a reminder that - unlike the benign, knee-deep conditions many of us experienced during last September's commemorative walk - a crossing in December in the early hours after a 5-hour night-trek across the foothills of the Pyrenees would have been tricky and unpredictable.
Add to that the requirement not to use torches and one can get some idea of the degrees of difficulty and danger involved.
Absolutely Chris.. and not to mention being shot at by the Guardia Civil.. (as happened on the night in question)
In addition to the itchy trigger fingers of the Guardia Civil on the Spanish side, the Germans also mounted patrols out on the hills at night on the French side of the Pyrenees.
I should have added that what takes us two days during our September Comet weekends, the wartime evaders did in one night - in silence.
Today, we do the walk in modern hiking kit - whereas back then, everything the evading airmen stood up in had been donated. Yes, we walk over the same routes but the experience is very different.
In addition to the itchy trigger fingers of the Guardia Civil on the Spanish side, the Germans also mounted patrols out on the hills at night on the French side of the Pyrenees.
I should have added that what takes us two days during our September Comet weekends, the wartime evaders did in one night - in silence.
Today, we do the walk in modern hiking kit - whereas back then, everything the evading airmen stood up in had been donated. Yes, we walk over the same routes but the experience is very different.
Last edited by PPRuNeUser0139; 4th Aug 2016 at 19:12.
