Joseph “Bud” Richardville was not very different from the millions of other young men who served in the U.S. military in World War II. He came from rural Indiana, where his family lived in poverty, a hangover from the Great Depression. He knew little about the world outside of Vincennes, but as the inevitability of the coming conflict became clear, Bud moved to Michigan to work in the paper mills, an industry that was essential to the war effort and which kept him stateside until he was drafted in 1943.
When Bud boarded the train for Camp Warren, Wyoming that summer, he was 29 and found himself riding with other soon-to-be soldiers who were mostly kids, many still in their teens, some excited to be away from home for the first time, others quiet, perhaps fearing what was to come.
Once at bootcamp, Bud was assigned to the Graves Registration Service. Family stories indicate that when Bud was young he’d periodically been called upon to help remove the corpses of those who’d fallen from the trains that trundled through his neighborhood, travelers who’d jumped aboard, hoping for a free ride, but who’d slipped and fallen to their deaths. Perhaps he’d mentioned this fact during his induction at Camp Warren and that familiarity with the dead colored the decision to place him in a GRS. Bud would serve in the 606 Graves Registration Company where he and his brethren were tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead.
Think about that for a moment, and consider that the gathering of war dead is an undertaking that seems to have been erased from history. Consider all of those war movies where soldiers are mowed down on the beaches of Normandy or are mortally wounded on foreign battlefields, young men, some blown to pieces. But once their deaths are confirmed, the camera moves forward, ignoring the carnage.
It was left to those in the Graves Registration Service to gather up the horrific aftermath of battle in the hope of making some order out of all that death. They did their utmost to retrieve and identify the fallen and design and build the cemeteries that would hold their remains. Today, about 130,000 American war dead are said to be buried on foreign soil, men and women who were laid to rest with the reverence they deserved, because of the dedication of those in the GRS.
The efforts of Bud and his men additionally served another vital purpose: morale. As wave after wave of soldiers hit those Normandy beaches, the dead had to be collected quickly, so as not to traumatize the incoming troops. It is not hyperbole to say that the job of those in the GRS is perhaps one of the most difficult and least appreciated in the history of military service. And it is easy to understand the torment many of these soldiers, including Bud, faced for the rest of their lives.
It is ironic, perhaps, that Bud’s final resting place would be in the American Cemetery in Épinal, France, where he was buried by his brothers who also served in the GRS.
Your Forgotten Sons
Inspired by a true story
Anne Montgomery
Bud Richardville is inducted into the Army as the United States prepares for the invasion of Europe in 1943. A chance comment has Bud assigned to a Graves Registration Company, where his unit is tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead. Bud ships out, leaving behind his new wife, Lorraine, a mysterious woman who has stolen his heart but whose secretive nature and shadowy past leave many unanswered questions. When Bud and his men hit the beach at Normandy, they are immediately thrust into the horrors of what working in a graves unit entails. Bud is beaten down by the gruesome demands of his job and losses in his personal life, but then he meets Eva, an optimistic soul who despite the war can see a positive future. Will Eva’s love be enough to save him?
Release Date: June 6, 2024
NextChapter Publishing
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Author Anne Montgomery 