Honoring Our Ancestors
Memorial Day Is Every Day
by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak

Back in the 1980s, I had the opportunity to work in a small Belgian town called Couvin. It was a sleepy and picturesque village where I could see France from my backyard, tour the local grottoes, or take a hike to the nearby town of Bruly-de-Pesche to inspect one of Hitler's bunkers. But one of my strongest memories stems from my last day there when a local man I had never met insisted on taking me and a visiting friend for a drink. Why? To thank us for what America had done during WWII. Never mind that we hadn't even been alive at the time; we were Americans and he was going to show his gratitude.

As an "Army brat," I was moved to realize that there were people who still appreciated the contributions of what would eventually become known as the "the greatest generation." But I am far from the only one to find herself on the receiving end of an unexpected kindness of this nature. What follows is Dr. Daniel Kortenkamp's tale of another spontaneous act of goodwill, as told in his own words.

Letters from Luxembourg
On Memorial Day, many of us spend time honoring those who have died. However, genealogists spend years researching, recording, preserving stories and pictures, and memorializing their ancestors.

I have been researching my ancestors for almost thirty years. In 1990, while attending the funeral of my wife's uncle, I met her ninety-nine-year-old great-uncle, Peter Fabricius. Visiting with him, I became curious about the ancestors of my wife, Janet Lang. Two of her ancestors--Jean-Pierre Fabricius and Elisabeth Weber--were emigrants from Luxembourg; however, I did not know their towns of origin.

In 1995 I placed an inquiry in a Luxembourg genealogy magazine asking for information about these ancestors. Soon after it appeared, I received a letter from Jean-Pierre Jung, who lives in Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg. He wrote in English and enclosed copies of records documenting the birthplaces and dates of my wife's two emigrant ancestors. He even included English translations. Over the next several days I received two more letters containing photocopied records and translations. I immediately wrote Mr. Jung thanking him for his research. I enclosed thirty dollars to cover his expenses, although he had not asked for money.

In Mr. Jung's next letter, he first thanked me for the "greenbacks," and then commented on my sending him money:

"Thank you very much, but please, please do not repeat it in the future. I am not doing research for any material compensation. Take it as my small personal tribute to the sacrifice of those G.I.s who fought during the Battle of the Bulge for the freedom of Luxembourg's people, and of those many thousands buried in Luxembourg ground at Hamm near Luxembourg-city, with their General Patton of the 3rd Army. My joy is in giving service to a U.S. citizen."

I was very moved that Mr. Jung would feel such gratitude fifty years after the end of WWII; and that he still would be trying to repay the American people for their sacrifices in liberating his country; and that I, who was only seven years old in 1945, was receiving this gratitude. Mr. Jung has helped me appreciate much more the sacrifices made by those who worked and fought to liberate Europe. But there is more to my Memorial Day story.

The Mayrose Connection
In the early 1960s I worked as an intern at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, Des Moines, Iowa. The Chief of Prosthetics was Cyril Mayrose. I knew that Mayrose was the first G.I. wounded in the liberation of Luxembourg. On September 9, 1944, Sergeant Mayrose was reconnoitering in front of the 5th Armored Division in Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army. He crossed the Belgium-Luxembourg border in an armored car and slowly approached the first Luxembourg town, the town of Pétange. As he came around a turn in the road, a German gun emplacement fired on his car, hitting it and starting it on fire. Sergeant Mayrose was able to crawl free, but lost his leg below the knee. After the war, Sergeant Mayrose was knighted by the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and a plaque was erected at the spot where he was wounded. I thought Mr. Jung would appreciate this story, so I sent him a copy of a " Des Moines Register" article about Mayrose.

In his next letter, Mr. Jung began: "Dear Daniel, I remember the burned out armored car at the entrance to Pétange. During the Battle of the Bulge, I passed the wreck each day. I am born and raised at Rodange and fetched a jar of milk daily at the mill of Pétange." He continued in his letter to say that he saw his first G.I. "at a road intersection near Boulaide on Sunday Sept. 10th at high noon." That was the day after the attack on Sergeant Mayrose's armored car.

During the past year, Mr. Jung has sent more than one dozen letters and packages containing scores of documents and translations, including color photos he took of the former homes of my wife's ancestors.

These examples of Mr. Jung's gratitude, and his memory of Sergeant Mayrose's burned out armored car, inspired me to write a letter to Mayrose. Sadly, his wife responded that he had died several years ago. However, she wrote that it meant a lot to her to know that the sacrifices of her husband and other G.I.s were still remembered and appreciated by the people of Luxembourg.

Long live the memory of Sir Cyril Mayrose, and the memories of all those who have sacrificed and died for liberty. And long live Jean-Pierre Jung, whose thoughtfulness and generosity keeps alive these memories.

Is There Someone You Could Thank?
Dr. Daniel Kortenkamp's story reminds us that we should express our gratitude for those who have served our country every day and in any way. As the date we designate as Memorial Day in the United States approaches, please consider taking a moment to think if there's anyone in your life who might delight in an unexpected word, card, or other token of appreciation. The smallest of gestures goes a long way in reminding people that their contributions matter--even decades after the fact.

Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, co-author (with Ann Turner) of the recently released Trace Your Roots with DNA: Using Genetic Tests to Explore Your Family Tree, as well as In Search of Our Ancestors (from which this story is taken), Honoring Our Ancestors and They Came to America), can be contacted through www.genetealogy.com and www.honoringourancestors.com.

Upcoming Events Where Megan Will Be Speaking

• New York Genealogical & Biographical Society
  (June 18, 2005, New York, NY)
• Genealogical Society of New Jersey and Gloucester County Historical Society Spring Genealogical Program (www.rootsweb.com/~njgsnj/events.html)
  (June 11, 2005, West Deptford, NJ)
• Collingswood Book Festival
  (September 2005, Collingswood, NJ)
• Iowa Genealogical Society Annual Fall Conference
  (October 6-8, 2005, Clive, IA)
• Monmouth County Genealogical Society
  (November 13, 2005, NJ)
• Haddon Heights Historical Society
  (January 17, 2006)

Details and links to upcoming events at www.honoringourancestors.com/schedule.html.

Copyright 2005, MyFamily.com.

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Ancestry Quick Tip
Timeline Spreadsheet
by Laurie Miller

I have found so many ancestors on my husband's side that when I went to the library to do research, I always got "lost" trying to figure out who should be where and when! Although it took a little time up front, I made a timeline for each "branch" of the tree and then combined all the timelines on one spreadsheet. My spreadsheet has seven columns: last name, first name, event year, place (country or state first, then county, city if known), event (marriage to..., birth to...etc), military service, and spouse. Now, depending on what I am looking up, I can sort by place, by name, or by date. Or if I'm looking up military service data, I can single out the ancestors who may have fought in a particular war. It makes it a lot easier and saves a lot of time when I'm researching a particular family, time period, or place. It also shows me which ancestors may have been acquainted.

Thanks to Laurie of Abilene, Texas, for today's Quick Tip! If you have a tip you would like to share with researchers, you can send it to ADNeditor@ancestry.com.

Quick Tips may be reprinted, with credit to the submitter, in other Ancestry publications, so if you do not want your tip included in a publication other than the Ancestry Daily News and Ancestry Weekly Digest, please state so clearly in your message.

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Clipping of the Day
Red Guns Hit by New Jersey
From The Herald Press (St. Joseph, Michigan), 25 May 1953, page 5

U.S. Battleship Delivers Surprise Blow to West Coast Town

ABOARD THE BATTLESHIP NEW JERSEY OFF CHINNAMPO, Korea, May 25 (AP)--The U.S. battleship New Jersey dealt Communist coastal defenses a surprise blow today after joining British naval forces off Korea's west coast.

The "Big J" ventured far up the Yellow sea to within striking range of Manchuria-based Communist MIGs and pounded Red shore batteries at the river approaches to the key port of Chinnampo, 75 miles from the battle front.

A clear sky and smooth sea favored the New Jersey and escorting British ships for the bombardment that helped allied forces usher in the 36th month of the Korean war. . . .

Subscribers with access to the Historical Newspapers Collection can view this clipping.

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Fast Fact
Memorial Day Articles in the Ancestry.com Library

On Memorial Day our thoughts turn to those in our family trees who gave their lives for our freedom. We at Ancestry.com wish to extend our sincere thanks to all the service men and women who have served and who are serving to protect our country.

Below is a list of resources from the Ancestry.com Library to help you as you seek to honor those who served in the Armed Forces.

• "Military Records off the Beaten Path," by Curt B. Witcher
  (Ancestry Magazine, Sep/Oct 2001, Vol. 19, No. 5)
• "World War I Draft Registration Cards," by Michael John Neill
  (Ancestry Daily News, 26 December 2001)
• "World War II Draft Cards," by Michael John Neill
  (Ancestry Daily News, 27 March 2002)
• "Remembering World War II," by Heather Stratford
  (Ancestry Magazine, May/June 2001, Vol. 19, No. 3)
• "Lest We Forget: The Value of Military Service Records," by Roseann Reinemuth Hogan, Ph.D.
  (Ancestry Magazine, Mar/Apr 2000, Vol. 18, No. 2)
• "Disguised Patriots: Women Who Served Incognito," by Elizabeth Kelley Kerstens, CGRS, CGL
  (Ancestry Magazine, Mar/Apr 2000, Vol. 18, No. 2)
• "A Call to Arms, A Call to Honor," by Curt B. Witcher
  (Ancestry Magazine, July/August 1999, vol. 19, no. 4)
• "Civil War Pension Records," by George G. Morgan
  ("Along Those Lines . . ." 18 December 1998)
• "Finding Your Patriot: Basic Sources for Starting Revolutionary War Research," by Curt B. Witcher
  (Ancestry Magazine, May/June 1996, Vol. 14, No. 3)
• "Lost Soul," by Rebekah Thorstenson
  (Ancestry Magazine, July/August 1999, vol. 19, no. 4)
• "In Search of the Graves of Our War Dead," by George G. Morgan
  ("Along Those Lines . . ." 16 June 2000)
• "Military Regimental Histories," by George G. Morgan
  ("Along Those Lines . . ." 2 July 1999)
• "Veterans in Your Family: Finding Background History and Images to Supplement Your Family History," by Juliana Smith
  (Ancestry Daily News, 11 November 1999)
• "Somewhere in France," by Juliana Smith
  (Ancestry Magazine, January/February 1997, vol. 16, no. 1)
• "Saving Private Ryan: Remembering Our World War II Soldiers," by Ron Eggertson
  (Ancestry Magazine, November/December 1998, vol. 16, no. 6)
• "Alternate Resources for Confederate Soldiers," by George G. Morgan
  (Ancestry Daily News, 27 November 2002)
• "Civil War Records: Valuable Sources for Genealogists," by Kip Sperry
  ("Kip's Tips," 23 January 2001)

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Thought for Today
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
1841-1935

"I do not know the meaning of the universe. But in the midst of doubt, in the collapse of creeds, there is one thing I do not doubt, that no man who lives in the same world with most of us can doubt, and that is that the faith is true and adorable which leads a soldier to throw away his life in obedience to a blindly accepted duty, in a cause which he little understands, in a plan of campaign of which he has little notion, under tactics of which he does not see the use."

Memorial Day Address, 30 May 1895
Full text of this address is available online.