“Abgeschossen und verschollen – Auf der Suche nach vermissten Bomberpiloten” (Shot Down and Missing – On the search for Missing Bomberpilots) – is a German documentary film of Harald Hort. The documentary follows Uwe Benkel, 53 years old and working at a Health Insurance Company in Ludwigshafen. Yet in his free time, he dedicates himself to search for WWII Air Pilots who went Missing, so he can finally bring closure to the families.
“Abgeschossen und Verschollen”
In this documentary we follow them in the successful recovery of the British Lancaster-Bomber ED 427 with its crew. The British Press hailed Uwe B. as a hero and the relatives of the missing are overjoyed. However the Royal Air Force (RAF) doesn’t give him the recognition. We want to know why they don’t support him in his research and recovery work. We also meet with the last surviving relatives of the recovered bomber crew.
Meanwhile, Uwe B., keeps on digging. In the forest near Schifferstadt he discovered a German Fighterplane. A particular challenge is a lake near Ludwigshafen: where divers will find a Bomber under water. And then there’s an American P-47 “Thunderbolt” in a field near Crumstadt. To clarify the identify the pilots proves to be difficult.
MORE INFORMATION
WWII C.S.I. Germany is a “Crash Site Investigation” group, based in Germany, who volunteers their time and efforts to help those from other countries locate the remains of soldiers who never returned from war. Their specialty is working to find WWII airplane crash sites, and then trying to find anything that might bring some comfort or knowledge to the person who requested their assistance, thereby giving the families some long overdue “closure”.
Read more on their work: Fate of WWII B-17 Crew Discovered
They help families not only the US, but other countries as well. Whenever they get a request from anyone (usually a relative), they do their best to find the crash site in hope that they can find a missing soldier or something from that missing soldier (dog tags, medals, etc). Their motto is: “Bring the Boys Back Home”. Their mission has always been to do everything they possibly can to find crash sites, excavate the site and see what they can uncover. They have been written up in numerous publications in Europe and have done wonderful work for people from all over the world.
Uwe B. near the crash site of a Me 109 near Schifferstadt
Their efforts are not currently funded by any organization & this group relies strictly on donations and their own personal funding to help those who are desperate to find out information about their loved ones lost during WWII. They need your help! With no government funding, they are on the verge of not being able to continue their amazing, volunteer work. Please help keep this group stay alive and able to continue doing what they do so well – locating crash sites.
Here’s a brief note from one of the founders of the group, Uwe Benkel:
“Thank you so much for your support. In the past we had so many families come over or we gave them information about their missing relatives. They came over, we showed them everything, we invited them and they left. Before they left they left they told us that they will support us, they will write letters to Presidents, Congressmen and so on. They also offered to send donations towards our work. What happened – nothing. We never heard anything from them again. Sometimes I think about stopping all this work. We do not have any financial support. All costs we pay out of our own money. You know, we get so many letters from all over the world saying thanks, but when you sometimes don`t have the money for your family to live, you think about this. Every year the American government pays millions to the people from JPAC in Hawaii for them to find MIA`s. We have had so many teams come over here and act like tourists. We are living here and we do the whole work. They take the remains back and tell the families that they did all the work.”
Please help fund this invaluable group. Every penny of every dollar donated will be sent to this group to continue their amazing work of finding crash sites. Even if you just donate a few dollars or more, it will help. Every little bit will help. Please find it in your heart to help this group continue to Bring our Boys Home!
