James Joseph Brodie, the pilot of the Lazy Daisy who lost his life on September 28, 1944, had a brother named Francis and two sisters, Veronica and Mary. James was the youngest child in the family. Veronica was three years older than James, Mary was ten years older, and Francis was twelve years older. With such a wide difference in ages between the two older children and the two younger ones, Veronica was probably closer to James than Mary and Francis. It would be Veronica who felt the loss of her brother more deeply and took steps to find where he had been buried.
War Department
Office of the Quartermaster General
Washington 25, D.C.23 June 1947
QMGMF 29
Brodie, James J.
S.N. 01 012 186Address Reply To
THE QUARTERMASTER GENERAL
Attention: Memorial DivisionMiss Veronica Brodie
c/o Ginn and Company
2301-2311 Prairie Avenue
Chicago 16, IllinoisDear Miss Brodie:
I have received your letter concerning your brother, the late First Lieutenant James J. Brodie.
The official Report of Burial discloses that the remains of your brother were interred in Plot R, Row 9, Grave 220, in the United States Military Cemetery Margraten, Holland, located ten miles west of Aachen, Germany.
Please accept my sincere sympathy in the loss of your brother.
Sincerely yours,
RICHARD B. COOMBS
Major, QMC
Memorial Division
Today, cemetery records show that James Brodie is buried in the cemetery’s Plot J, Row 13, Grave 4.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2014
The Arrowhead Club 