The Never-Ending Be Merciful Story

by Andrea Kormann Lowe

For all the times my father, Col. John Kormann told the Be Merciful story, he never would have imagined that it would become such an important bridge to reach out to younger generations of many nationalities. At the 2017 dedication of the Be Merciful plaque, German high school students told us what the story meant to them, which was especially touching as almost none of them had discussed World War II with their families growing up.  At lunch afterwards, elderly Germans told their childhood memories of Operation Varsity to the visiting Scions, and to the teenagers of their town. It was the first time many of them had told their stories in public.

The goodwill from that visit and ongoing work of Jos Bex, plus the efforts of LTC Tim Stoy and Captain Monika Stoy (U.S. Army, retired ) with the Mayor and others, meant that in 2018 we achieved what seemed impossible in two months.  When we learned in January 2018 that veterans Edward Good and Richard Seifert were coming to Hamminkeln, that was the catalyst needed. With impressive military efficiency, the Stoys convinced the Mayor to agree to a plaque to the 17th Airborne Division on the Hamminkeln town hall wall and host a ceremony attended by 70. The Stoys commissioned a stunning plaque and arranged for a Color Guard to come from Wiesbaden (almost a 6 hour round trip) and the Vice Consul to come from Dusseldorf (an hour away).

The previous day, to an assembly of over 200 students and local press, the Stoys delivered (in German) an American perspective on the causes of the World War II. A “Missing in Action” ceremony, where an empty table set for one reminds us of all those soldiers who have not yet returned, was a moving beginning at both the school and at the plaque dedication ceremony.

We also met with the bi-lingual class that veteran Charles Davis and several Scions had visited in 2017.  We were impressed by the numerous display boards they had made of our visit, and also the research they had done on World War II and in the local area where Stumbling Stones now mark the location of homes of Jews who were taken away. Their first question to me was, “How is Charles Davis?”

March 24, 2018 dawned much as Richard Seifert and Edward Good told me it did for Operation Varsity; sunny and clear.  The joy of the dedication ceremony of the beautiful bench the Scions have provided in Hotel Haus Duden mingled with the sadness of the reading by Belgian guide Gregory DeCock of the names of the veterans who are no longer with us.

But for me, the most poignant part of the trip was unscripted. Just before the ceremony, a 50-year old German came to us by the bench and introduced himself as the Executive Chef of the Hotel Haus Duden where we had been staying. He turned to our veterans Edward Good and Richard Seifert and thanked them for enabling him to grow up as a free man. He then explained that he was a German paratrooper, who had seen action in Kosovo and Afghanistan. All 3 paratroopers compared notes about aircraft and jumps. He said that by law, German military cannot have these sorts of reunions, and how fortunate we are to be able to get together and honor our comrades.

Every year since 2015 I have traveled from London (where I live) to Hamminkeln, Germany and each year more amazing things happen, which I look forward to sharing with you in person in Germany in March 2020 for the 75th anniversary of Operation Varsity.                                 

Andrea Kormann Lowe