Grave Marker Helps Give Family Closure
This is from the Clinton Herald.
Clinton-- After more than 50 years without a headstone or marker, Jim Soesbe was finally commemorated this week at St. Irenaeus Calvary Cemetery in Clinton.
“I have some satisfaction in having this happen,” said Soesbe’s younger brother, Robert Soesbe of Clinton.
The older Soesbe served as a navigator for a B-24 bomber based with the Army Air Force in Britain at the time of World War II.
Soesbe’s bomber was returning to base after a bombing run on Sept 24, 1944, when it was attacked over the Netherlands by German planes.
The bombers blew up in the air, leaving only one survivor and no sign of Soesbe or his body. In November of 1945, American authorities officially listed his status as missing in action, presumed dead.
Throughout the years, the idea of having a grave marker to commemorate Jim’s death didn’t occur to his family. But in recent months, Robert had looked into securing a headstone to honor both Jim’s death and his military service.
“Without a body, there was a lack of closure about his death.” Robert said.
Robert finally received a headstone coincidentally right around the time many of his family was coming into town for a reunion. So Robert, along with his children, grandchildren and brother, loaded the headstone into a pickup and placed the stone next to the gravesites of Jim and Robert’s parents.
“I think this gives us a little bit of closure.” Robert said of the event’s effect on his family
Brian Pape of Pape Funeral Home is responsible for maintaining the cemetery. He said although there have been instances where grave markers have been placed without remains, this is the first time such a placement has occurred in the St. Irenaeus cemetery.
Pape said such memorial stones are important for those who still wish to remember the people that they have lost.
“It’s a permanent marker as a focal point for the remembrances of future generations,” he said.
He also mentioned such memorials can also be helpful for people for whom the bodies of friends and family are not available for other reasons, such as cremation.