New Milestone: Two-thirds of the soldiers in Margraten now have a face
The quest for photos of U.S. World War II soldiers who have found their final resting place in the Dutch town of Margraten has reached a new milestone. Since earlier this week, over 6,670 soldiers who have been buried or memorialized there now have a photo available. This means that two-thirds of all 10,012 soldiers now have a face. To mark the 75th anniversary of WWII, the photos will be on display next to their graves from May 2-6, 2020 during The Faces of Margraten.
Maurice Gosney was the 6,672th soldiers of whom a photo has become available. Enlisting from Chicago, Maurice joined the 71st Infantry Division to fight in the war in Europe. A few weeks before the official end of the war, he was killed in action in the vicinity of the German town of Coburg on April 11, 1945. He only was 23 years old at the time of his death. It was his family who submitted a photo of him to the tribute.
Gosney’s family hopes to attend the tribute next year to honor their brother and uncle. “The visit to Margraten is a goal for my 83 year old mother and my aunt. I told them both to get their sneakers on and to start training to walk more! We will be there!,” wrote Kristin Wright.
Both in the Netherlands and the United States, people use an interactive map to localize the still-missing photos. The map allows people to see where these soldiers came from. All across the U.S., Americans have begun to look for the missing photos. The tribute eventually hopes to put a face to 7,500 soldiers for the 75th anniversary.
