These letters are those that my grandmother received from individuals in response to her letters requesting information in addition to letters that she wrote but for some reason never sent, and perhaps these were drafts that she ultimately rewrote and sent. The organization of this page is in chronological order of the dates on the letters from the oldest to the most recent since I do not know the order in which some of the letters came into her possession.

Major General C. E. Byers, Commanding Officer of Fort Bragg, sent Katherine Bachenheimer, Theodore’s mother, a letter dated June 15, 1948, informing her of the renaming of a street for Theodore at Fort Bragg. He also included photographs for her; however, no copies of those were in my grandmother’s files.

The first letter here is from Clarence F. Montgomery dated October 29, 1959 to the “Mayer” of Oldenbroek at the Veluwe in the Netherlands requesting information about Bachenheimer because Montgomery hoped to write a book about him. The response, dated May 16th 1960, is written on official letterhead from Gemeente Doornspijk and has a no. of 1461. The writer of the letter, who I presume to be the mayor but the signature cannot be read, tells of a rumor about Bachenheimer’s death.

Pastor Thuring wrote this letter, dated January 5, 1983, to Visser, who was the Head Master of the school at T’Harde which took care of Bachenheimer’s memorial in Holland, explaining how the Star of David would replace the cross that was originally on the memorial. The yellow note attached to the letter was written by my grandmother.

My grandmother contact the VFW Magazine in order to find out information about Bachenheimer’s burial, and in response, James K. Anderson, who was the editor of the magazine, sent her information about Bachenheimer’s dogtags and serial number as well as information about the Amerian Military Cemetery at Margraten. He states that he included a map and other materials; however, they are not attached here.

My grandmother received a letter, dated July 14, 2000, from Steven Bachenheimer who was a relative of Klaus Bachenheimer, Theodore’s brother, containing information about the Bachenheimer family tree. In addition to details about Theodore, these materials also detail the lives of his parents Katharina Botticher and Wilhelm Bachenimer,along with information about other family members. Klaus’ original letter, also included here, written to Steven is dated February 26, 1994

Vernele Bachenheimer, Klaus’ wife, was in correspondance with Steven M. Karras, who wanted information about Theordore because he was creating a film about WWII. This short letter is dated July 25, 2000.

This letter (August 26, 2000) from Louis A. Hauptfleish, who states that she “wrote the static line 504 column” although does not say in which magazine or newspaper, to “Fred” includes a first hand account of an overheard conversation between General Gavin and Colonel Tucker who oversaw Operation Market-Garden in Holland. She states that General Gavin stated “I don’t know whether to court martial [Bachenheimer] or give him a battlefield propotioin to 2nd Lt.” Fred could be Fred Baldino who served with Bachenheimer and who was in contact with my grandmother.

My grandmother was in contact with Steven Karras regarding the documentary that he wanted to create, and he sent her emails about the project along with this letter dated August 31, 2000. The last page includes a note from Ethel, Theodore’s widow, to Karras.

My grandmother loved watching historical documentaries and shows on television with my grandfather. After watching “Forgotten Heroes” hosted by Tom Brokaw, my grandmother felt the need to share Bachenheimer’s story with him, so she wrote a letter on September 26, 2000. This letter is also interesting in that she describes part of her research issues, including how she “tried for 13 years to get any info. based on the writing on the memorial.” She states that she didn’t know how to use a computer “or didn’t realize the value of one in this quest.”

Ed Moorehead served with “Bach” and also personally knew Ross Carter who wrote “The Devils in the Baggy Pants,” a book about the 504th paratroopers. This letter to my grandmother dated December 31, 2000 includes a newspaper clipping in which Moorehead describes “Bachs” feelings toward the Nazis and his bravery.

Once my grandmother uncovered information about Bachenheimer, she contacted Ethel Betry, his widow, who sent this letter, dated January 6, 2001, in response.

This is letter from Visser, the director of Christianly Primary Education in ‘t Harde, dated March 21, 2003 to my grandmother.

Vernele Bachenheimer, Klaus’ wife, sent my grandmother a letter dated March 27, 2001 in which she details what it was like for a 10 year old during WWII.

This letter from my grandmother to Mr. Berg is in response to an article that he wrote about the 101st Airborne. My grandmother details her visit to Holland in 1987. In it, she lists dates of Bachenheimer’s life and service in addition to insights about why she felt the need to investigate his life. She also made a note stating that she wrote this letter on September 10, 2001-the night before the terrorist attacks against America