Disturbing correspondence

[AlanW]

Right ! here's the letter i received,

Alan,
I had the misfortune to be present on the final dig, and the reality of this story, is very much the same, as the "Hurricane" story you quoted. After an hour or so on site, i had to walk away, and was going to leave, but decided it was better to witness, rather than turn my back on what was happening. There was great disquiet here (place name) about what has happened. For various concrete reasons, i am absolutely certain, that human remains were found during the first "unauthorized" dig of the site, when Mr Graves had decided that the A/C was a Mosquito, whose crew were accounted for. During this dig, five parachutes and numerous machine guns were found, pointing to the A/C not being a Mosquito. Soon after, Mr Graves decided that it was actually a Lancaster, and at some point around this time, the famous ring (personal item) was found.
Many people on the dig, many being first time volunteers expecting a "time Team" type forensic hunt, through carefully removed spoil, and others looking on via forums etc, are very unhappy about the conduct of the final dig. Mr Graves claims on video, that the final dig, was to find conclusive proof of the identities of the crew, in order to give them a decent burial, but this is hard to reconcile, with the apparent haste to get the digger to the bottom of the hole, to get a propeller, that remained inaccessible, after the digger got bogged down on the second dig.
A lot of well meaning, decent and honest people, have been duped by so called "expert historian" of more than 400 digs Mr Graves, and many are wrestling with their consciences, torn between what is morally right, and their own unwitting participation in these events, and the surviving relatives, who might discover that they have been lied to. It appears that every effort was made to avoid discovering human remains on this excavation, and that indeed, remains had already been discovered.
At one point, a digger bucket sliced through a known, and identified crew position within the wreck, despite the pleas of the volunteers, who were carefully excavating the precise area by hand. The matter is being gently pursued with French authorities, but in a manner to avoid distress to innocent parties. However, it is important that the story does not just disappear, as in some ways, it would be more convenient to some, if it got chucked back in the hole, along with the remains found.
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[ME453]

Is all this recent Alan?

[AlanW]

Recent"ish" as stated before, please, if thoughts of ID come to mind, please do not post. Hopefully, justice, no matter how long it takes, will take it's course in the end.

[Theletterwriter]

Obviously some forum members who have posted here know the name of the person responsible. I personally have no idea who this person is. However, as we are all agreed that the methods used to excavate the crash site or sites (with the high probability of human remains having been descreated) are beyond the pale and are completely out of order, what is the problem about identifying this person?

If this type of excavation has been undertaken and there is evidence to back up these claims, let us not dance around the issue, use asterisks to blank out naughty words or to tell the forum of past correspondence with the individual. Now is the time to act. Will someone please tell the rest of the forum, who are not in the know, who this person is?? If there is insufficient evidence, then this thread must be closed immediately.

Douglas

[ME453]

I must admit Alan, I agree with Douglas. If a "crime" has been committed then that individual should be named providing there is substantive evidence to back up any accusations, but if the evidence is lacking or comprises gossip and tittle-tattle then no further discussions should be had.
Max

[AlanW]

Hi Max,
The reason i have not divulged the name of the person involved, and the ID of the aircraft, is simply because i was asked by the informant, not to, because of any chance of the relatives finding out, before inquiries were made by official bodies. I also know for certain, that another prominent aviation archaeologist is on the case, because he is not happy with the way the dig was conducted, and he has quoted that, things are being done behind the scenes, to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion.
You only have to look at the case of the excavation of George Kosh's Typhoon, back in the nineties, when it was alleged that human remains were found, but dumped back in the hole, made by excavating wreckage (including engine) out, to see the grief that it caused to the sister of Kosh, when she found out, after someone informed authorities. Douglas mentions about closing the thread, and i would certainly want to close, and delete it, rather than divulge something i've been asked not too, as much as i detest what has happened, and beginning to regret posting in the first place. The moment i find that the matter is taken care of, which hopefully will be soon, then i will only be only too glad to post the culprits name, and in saying that, i have just sent a message to my informant, asking about any progress.
Douglas...
As for using asterisks to blank out naughty words, surely that's my choice, not to show the word in full.
Alan.

[ME453]

Understood completely Alan, and you're absolutely right.
Max

[Theletterwriter]

Alan

You are perfectly entitled to use asterisks in any way you please. My point is that naming and shaming is a much more effective course.

Douglas

[AlanW]

Douglas,
And i agree with you, but there is a time to do it, but it's not now. Once i know things are being taken care of, i will have no problem with naming the individual concerned. When the dig was in progress, and personal items and clothing were being found, i knew at once, in my own mind, that something not quite right was going on. That is when i called him a grave robber, and a few months later, i got the information that i posted earlier, which allegedly backed up my thoughts.
Watch this space...........

[Peter Fox]

We can always hope that the "grave robbers" will be haunted by the spirits of the lost airmen.