Theodore H. Bachenheimer became my grandmother’s obsession.

In 1987 on a trip to see my uncle Alan who was stationed in Holland, my grandmother, grandfather, and uncle came across a memorial to an American soldier who was killed by Nazis while trying to save Dutch lives during WWII.

This grave marked with a Star of David sparked my grandmother’s imagination and her desire to uncover information about the hero in the hopes of finding his family to tell them about the memorial.

Her quest for information at that time was not easy since she was stuck in an analog world where the flow of information was not as swift and easy as it is now. Although I don’t know her exact methodology in terms of chronological order, I can piece together her thought process and her actions which ultimately proved fruitful because she was able to learn about Bachenheimer’s life and family, and my grandmother was finally able to meet his widow and tell her about the memorial.

This website is dedicated to Theodore H. Bachenheimer to honor his bravery and to my grandmother to honor her tenacity and passion.  In the following pages, you will see the artifacts that my grandmother collected during her investigation into Bachenheimer’s short life, including letters, magazine articles, interviews, and books.  My grandmother sent me the information hoping that I would write a book, but I think making these documents public and easily accessible is much more important.  My own web research about Bachenheimer has not uncovered any primary texts that could add to this story. Despit that, I have included a page here with links to websites that talk about his life and heroics in the 504th paratrooper infantry; however, some contain information that primary texts here prove contrary. 

In honor of Theordore H. Bachenheimer, an American hero, and Ruth M. Walp, a passionate investigator