Memorial

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Pvt Mage Axum was a welder before he enlisted in Tyler, Texas on 27 January 1944.

The mission report of his unit states that on 18 October 1944 the company made a night raid on the enemy held town of Buscherheide. Extremely heavy fire was encountered from artillery, high velocity weapons and machine guns. After the raid the troops withdrew from the town. The objective was to destroy a bridge but the mission failed. After reorganization, Pvt Bernal, Sgt Long, Pvt Axum and Pvt Brooks were missing from the company. The remains of Sgt Long, Pvt Axum and Pvt Brooks were recovered and interred at Ardennes Cemetery. Pvt Axum and Pvt Brooks are still buried there. The remains of Pvt Bernal were never recovered.

On 5 March 1947, an investigation team went to Buscherheide and contacted the farmer, Arnold Ruland, in whose meadow there was supposed to be a grave of an American soldier. He stated that when he returned home after the evacuation of the village in March 1945, he discovered a grave right behind his farm with two helmets lying on it, one German helmet and one American one. Since he knew a German soldier had been killed near his farm, he thought that this was the grave of the German soldier and therefore put the German helmet on the cross. He didn't know anymore what became of the American helmet. When a German woman came looking for her son who was still missing, they opened the grave and discovered that this soldier was an American, due to the fact that he wore an American uniform. He reported this grave to the Burgemeister who then informed the proper authorities. The investigation team opened the grave and found the remains of an American soldier.

These remains were evacuated to the Ardennes Cemetery as Unknown X-5662. Tooth charts were compaired and taken into account the extimated height, shoe size and type of clothing and in agreement with the area were he was last seen and where his unit was engaged in troop operations, the remains could be identified as those of pvt Axum.