Past: Cape Girardeau County Genealogical Society Meeting

Join us in person at the County Archive Center at 7 PM Tuesday, May 28, 2024, for our May meeting. (Sorry, but there will be no remote option for this meeting.) This month's speaker is Terry H. Irwin of Gordonville, who will present on his book about his father-in-law's experiences during World War II, "Sgt. Dinwiddie's War: B-17s, POWs and the Belgian Underground in World War II." Hope to see you there!

Saturday, January 29, 1944: It was the day that forever changed the life of T/Sgt. Don Dinwiddie, radioman on the G.I. Sheets, a B-17 bomber on a mission to destroy Nazi targets in Frankfurt, Germany. Hobbled by a bad engine and struggling to make it back to safety amidst enemy flak and German fighter planes, the G.I. Sheets was shot down over Belgium. Aided by members of the Belgian underground, Don evaded capture for nearly four months before being betrayed and handed over to the Germans; he finished the remainder of the war as a POW, spending the last eighty-six days behind enemy lines on a 600-mile forced march. Sgt. Dinwiddie's War is the story of the G.I. Sheets, its crew, and their fight for freedom in war-torn Europe.