In 1950, worsening diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union, who controlled that part of Germany at the time, and the United States, prevented American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) from investigating Sgt. Wiemerslage's remains further.
Three years later, two German citizens conducted another search of the area on the behalf of AGRC. They fund some bones, including a jaw with teeth and part of aa wallet with the initials "FW." In March 1954, the remains were interred, to be held until the recovery of additional remains could be found.
Over the years. Wiemerslage's mother exchanged many letters with the mothers of the other six killed in the March 2, 1945, mission over Dresden. She never gave up hope that her son might have survived.
Dresden was especially heavily bombed in four raids between February13 and 15, 1945, when over 1200 heavy British and American bombers dropped more than 3,900 tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs on the city. Three more U.S. Army Air Force raids occurred after that, with two of them on March 2, when Wiemerslage's plane was shot down.
"Our grandmother Vivian [Francis' mother] never gave up hope that miraculously he had survived. [She hoped] that maybe he bumped his head and had amnesia and was living with another family under a different name. She would set a place-setting up for him every Thanksgiving hoping that he would walk through the door," Phil Wiemerslage said.
--GreGen
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