Information from Brenda Irwin Frizzell about her father’s World War II mess kit that was found on a Belgian battlefield and returned to him 47 years after it was lost. We shared this article with the Alleghany News, an important partner of AHGS.
My father, Paul M. Irwin, received the letter, below, from the Mayor of Wilkesboro, NC. in 1991. It was written by a young Belgian man named Jean-Louis Seel.
SEEL Jean-Louis
11, rue des Ecloes
4800 Verviers
Belgium
Verviers, October 24, 1991
Mr. The Mayor
Town of Wilkesboro, NC.
U.S.A.
Mr. the Mayor,
I’m writing to you, I’m enclosing relevant references in order to show that my motives are “bona fide’’. In the course of my research, I recently discovered a World War II engraved mess kit bearing the name of:
PAUL M. IRWIN
WILKESBORO, NC
I therefore write to ask if, in your city records, you can tell whether or not, he or any of his relatives still live in Wilkesboro?
I’d like to know, so that I can inform him/them of my discovery. Any help you can give me in regard of this will be truly appreciated.
I am,
Sincerely Yours,
J.-L. Seel
He had discovered a mess kit near Elsenborn Belgium that was engraved with my Father’s name and hometown on it. It had shrapnel holes all over it and other states were engraved as well. The mess kit was lost in an attack in Sept 1944 when the 4th Cav were fighting the Germans and liberated Elsenborn from the Nazis. My father told the story of how his company was under fire and the Jeep in front of them was blown up so he and another soldier dove out of the Jeep into a ditch. Their vehicle was hit next and blown up. They lost their bedrolls, mess kits and other equipment with just their rifles left. They moved on to the Ardennes and to the Battle of the Bulge shortly after.
He and the other men in their company would sit around the fire at night and engrave their names and states on their mess kits with their pocket knives. So that 47 years later, his name was still legible and the mess kit intact! My father corresponded with Jean Louis about the history behind the mess kit until his death shortly after.
It was placed in a WWII museum in Caen, France. Jean Louis Seel went on to become a military archeologist and continues his work today to return remains of soldiers and artifacts to both American and German soldiers.
In 2014 I was notified that the museum was changing out the exhibits and that he would be returning the mess kit to the family.
Aubel, December 31, 2014
Dear Brenda,
It is my pleasure to send you back your dad mess kit!
It was dug out on May 16, 1985 on a remote hill called “Hohe Mark”, high spot overlooking camp Elsenborn… This part of the country is one of the most wild area in Belgium due to the fact that it is restricted, allowing only the presence of the department of the forest and Belgian army soldiers. Few hikers walk through the forest there and even more less searchers…
Today; I’m pretty sure that your father lost his mess kit before the Bulge when the 4th Cav Gp liberated the Elsenborn area in September 1944. After that, the unit kept moving, entered Germany and when the battle of the Bulge started, the 4th Cav. Gp was fighting in the Hurtgen forest. By December 23rd, they had moved to the battle of the Bulge sector but to the southern area. They never came back to Elsenborn.
All my best,
JL SEEL
We were so grateful to have it returned to us and we treasure this amazing piece of history that was a part of the Greatest Generation.
Brenda Irwin Frizzell
Paul Monroe Irwin (Feb. 4, 1921 – Apr. 30, 1992) was born in Stratford but was living in Wilkesboro and working at the Wilkes Motor Supply when he filled out his Selective Service registration card in 1942.
During the war, he served as a technical sergeant with the 605th Tank Destroyer Battalion. He participated in the D-Day invasion and earned a Bronze Star medal for service at the Battle of the Bulge. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to members of the US Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
After the war, on Feb. 15, 1947, he married Marianna Burton Irwin (Oct. 16, 1924 – Jan. 20, 2010). Their children are Brenda Irwin Frizzell and Barry Irwin. Mr. and Mrs. Irwin are buried at the Antioch Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery.
Jean-Louis Seel still works with the 99th Division MIA Project: a team of battlefield investigators who collaborate with Battle of the Bulge veterans for their stated mission: “to return to the battle site and recover the lost remains of their brothers-in-arms, an undertaking rooted in the belief that all of America’s war dead should be accounted for, no matter how many years have passed.”
More information at: miaproject.net
The Mémorial de Caen is a museum and war memorial in Caen, Normandy, France commemorating World War II and the Battle for Caen.
normandy.memorial-caen.com/
