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CPL Ernst Ahrens

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CPL Ernst Ahrens Veteran

Birth
Reelkirchen, Kreis Lippe, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Death
31 Oct 1945 (aged 21)
Blissfield, Lenawee County, Michigan, USA
Burial
Augusta, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, USA GPS-Latitude: 42.3360097, Longitude: -85.3218203
Plot
SECTION B SITE 18
Memorial ID
View Source
German Army Soldier. He was a Gefreiter (Corporal) in the Army of Germany during World War II. He was captured by Allied forces, and died as a Prisoner of War.

Blissfield, MI – This past weekend (October 31, 2020) marked the 75th year since a train-truck in the Blissfield area crash killed 16 German prisoners of war and one guard.

On October 31, 1945, 16 POW's and one guard were killed in a train-truck crash at the Silberhorn crossing. Pascual Martinez, driver of the truck transporting the prisoners back to the camp after an 8-hour day's work on the Raymond Beck farm four miles south of Riga, was injured as were 8 other POW's. An Army board of inquiry investigated, exonerating Martinez.
The deceased German soldiers were buried at Fort Custer National Cemetery. At the date of the accident the war was over and they were waiting for an agreement on how to exchange/return prisoners.

Over the weekend, there was a wreath placed near the accident site to commemorate the POW's and the guard who lost their lives.

Media in the article is courtesy of the Blissfield Historical Society.
German Army Soldier. He was a Gefreiter (Corporal) in the Army of Germany during World War II. He was captured by Allied forces, and died as a Prisoner of War.

Blissfield, MI – This past weekend (October 31, 2020) marked the 75th year since a train-truck in the Blissfield area crash killed 16 German prisoners of war and one guard.

On October 31, 1945, 16 POW's and one guard were killed in a train-truck crash at the Silberhorn crossing. Pascual Martinez, driver of the truck transporting the prisoners back to the camp after an 8-hour day's work on the Raymond Beck farm four miles south of Riga, was injured as were 8 other POW's. An Army board of inquiry investigated, exonerating Martinez.
The deceased German soldiers were buried at Fort Custer National Cemetery. At the date of the accident the war was over and they were waiting for an agreement on how to exchange/return prisoners.

Over the weekend, there was a wreath placed near the accident site to commemorate the POW's and the guard who lost their lives.

Media in the article is courtesy of the Blissfield Historical Society.

Bio by: US Veterans Affairs Office


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Gravesite Details

German POW


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  • Created by: Greg Farino
  • Added: Aug 31, 2009
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41413698/ernst-ahrens: accessed ), memorial page for CPL Ernst Ahrens (8 Apr 1924–31 Oct 1945), Find a Grave Memorial ID 41413698, citing Fort Custer National Cemetery, Augusta, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, USA; Maintained by Greg Farino (contributor 46527894).