Hunt for the dead stirs feelings

Re “Search for the fallen in a now-quiet forest,” Column One, May 2

The beautifully written piece on the haunting mission of one man’s search for the forgotten remains of Europe’s war dead gave me a long moment’s pause.

For the dwindling few who remember a husband or brother or son, Erwin Kowalke’s small box of bones is a miraculous gift, a reclaiming of time and place for lost loved ones. For the rest of us, we are in danger of forgetting the gift of 36 inches of dirt that separates us from the war that buried these young men barely 60 years ago.

BRIGGS NISBET

Oakland

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I was disappointed to see the Column One on Kowalke’s quiet recovery of the bodies of German and Russian soldiers who died in World War II. German soldiers were complicit in the terror, torture and deaths that were the result of Hitler’s insane rule. Without their participation, Hitler would not have had an army to fight his war.

While I certainly respect that war kills young men, these men were far from innocent. The German soldiers Kowalke recovers were Nazi soldiers, and as far as I am concerned, they do not deserve to rest in a quiet cemetery. While Kowalke’s efforts may seem noble, they nonetheless pay respect to those who said “yes” to Hitler.

N.B. USHER

Los Angeles