Mood:
coolTopic: "American Cemetery"(8)
Frodo long ago made himself a promise to someday walk through the American Cemetery above the Beaches at Normandy. In the interim, he has another visit to another cemetery on the agenda, and it isn't that far away.
The British Cemetery at Ocracoke, North Carolina, is 2,290 square feet of British territory on American soil. HMS Bedfordshire, a fishing trawler converted to an escort ship for convoy duty, was sunk by the German U-558 on May 11, 1942, and the entire crew was lost. Three days later, bodies began to wash ashore at Ocracoke.
More than 400 ships were lost to German U-Boats during those dreadful days in the first six months of 1942. Returning the crew of the Bedfordshire to their own Shire was not possible. The crew was buried in a corner of the Ocracoke cemetery, and the land was later deeded to the Commonwealth War Grave Commission. Technically, the crew was buried on home ground. The grounds are maintained by the US Coast Guard, and the "Union Jack" flies, proudly, over her sons.
Twice, British and Americans fought on the soil in which these men now rest. A lot to think about for the Hobbit.
