A Soldier’s Death Far from the Field of Battle
By Andrew Carroll

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From the November 2007 issue: A Soldier’s Death Far from the Field of Battle

Thousands of American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines lost their lives in World War II during training exercises, their sacrifices often overlooked. On August 28, 1944, a woman in Quincy, Washington, Mrs. W. C. Grigg, witnessed one of these casualties firsthand. The next day she wrote to the commanding officer of nearby Ephrata Air Base to ask if she could communicate with the mother of the young man who had died.

Dear Sir,

Last evening about 7:45 from our farm near Quincy we witnessed the crash of an air plane that may have come from your field. My husband and mother were first to reach the lad’s side and although it was too late to be of any help, they, with others, checked the grass fire and moved away.

They were touched by his youth and the nice wholesome American boy he seemed to be. So much like a boy in our family whose fate was so nearly that of this lad when his plane fell two thousand feet before he regained control and he was able to come out of the tailspin he was in.

This boy who is so much like ours has gone now but he must have a mother grieving somewhere. It is she who like so many others will continue to suffer.

We feel that we could comfort her and help ease the burden she must bear. This is our request. If, in due time, you are privileged to do so, would you forward this letter to her so that she may correspond with us if she cares to? We would all be very grateful to you, sir.

Thanking you very kindly and hoping you can do this for us, I remain,

Yours truly

Mrs. W. C. Grigg

The parents of the pilot, who was named Gordon G. Anderson, did indeed want to know more, and they wrote to Mrs. Grigg after the CO forwarded her letter to them. Only about a week shy of his twenty-first birthday, Gordon was a second lieutenant who had volunteered to serve in the military after spending a year in college. Mrs. Grigg’s handwritten twenty-five-page response to the Andersons candidly details how their son was killed, but also reveals the anguish Mrs. Grigg felt for their loss.

Sept. 11, 1944

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Anderson,

I received your letter just this morning and was very grateful to find that the commanding officer of the Ephrata air base had been so kind as to send my letter on to you. Some of the family doubted that the army would grant such a request but I felt impelled to try. I knew so well what it would mean to you.

Our thoughts have been with you so much. Not knowing where you were or how to reach you, but knowing too how your hearts were aching from such a loss. I know how anxious you are for all details and I am glad to give them to you. I only hope I can do so without hurting you more.

Our farm lies out on the open prairie where one may see for miles and distance is very confusing. At night the beacon lights from the Ephrata air base eighteen miles away may easily be seen.

We, being from Seattle where so often the clouds hide the beauty of the sunsets there, marvel at the magnificent grandeur to be seen in the sunsets here on the prairie. Each evening it’s different and each evening I stand in wonder at its beauty.

It was on such an evening as this that the accident occurred.

I had just stepped out of the cabin to once more view that grand spectacle. The sun had just set in the west and the whole blue sky was ablaze in brilliant colors. As I turned to the east the sight was magnificent with golden fields of grain already harvested, laying edged on the distant horizon by a rim of the most delicate shades of peach and rose blending into the blue above.

It was there, in that clear blue sky, I first saw the planes. Four of them. As I stood watching them they divided into two groups and seemed to go into battle maneuvers, the leader in each group apparently trying to evade and out maneuver the plane behind.

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