DELTAVILLE, Va. — With the incoming tides, the past also washes ashore daily in Deltaville.
Debbie Holloman’s home is dripping with yesteryear.
"I think it ties it all together to know that you are a big part of history," Holloman told CBS 6 reporter Greg McQuade. "I think it is important to know where you come from."
One ancestor in particular tugs at the North Carolina native's heartstrings from across the ages and an ocean.
It's a man she knows well but has never met. Her uncle, Eddie Hart, was killed in April 1945 during World War II.
The soldier with the 83rd Division was just 22 years old.
“We talked about him. We talked about everything about his growing up and about his service—all when I was growing up. It was always important to me,” Holloman said.
Hart’s legacy endures through photos, family lore, and wartime letters.
Debbie Holloman’s bond with her uncle was cemented 20 years ago during a trip to meet the Dutch family who adopted Eddie’s grave at Netherlands American Cemetery.
This journey was captured in the documentary “Thank You, Eddie Hart.”
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More than 10,000 Americans are buried and memorialized in Margraten.
Endless crosses standing at attention left their mark.
"Seeing that helps show what the sacrifice really was — was one life lost, but there were many lives touched when that loss took place,” Holloman said.
Soldiers’ names may be etched in stone, but what they looked like remained a mystery.
“Even if I have a few minutes, I will sit down and do a little search. You know, for photos that we are looking for,” Holloman said.
For ten years now, the retired attorney has been trying to change that. She scours old newspapers, libraries, and family scrapbooks for elusive images.
“For most of these guys, there has to be a photo out there somewhere,” she said.
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She volunteers with Faces of Margraten and the Fields of Honor Foundation, which are organizations founded by grateful Dutch citizens.
“These Europeans have not forgotten the sacrifice that has been made,” Holloman said.
Their mission is to locate pictures of the more than 41,000 airmen and soldiers buried at six American cemeteries across Europe, like Henri-Chapelle in Belgium.
“We have photographs of over 23,000 of them. We are over halfway there, which is great. But obviously, there is a lot of work to do,” Holloman said.
When Debbie began her mission a decade ago, photos of more than 90 Virginians buried in the Netherlands were missing.
That number is down to eight.
“Unfortunately, a lot of the Army records, including photographs, burned in 1973,” Holloman said.
As we move further away from World War II, Holloman laments the loss of direct links to the fallen.
“When I started, I could reach wives and, in some cases, siblings; in some cases, that is becoming more and more rare as time goes by,” Holloman said.
Her sleuth-like work is less hobby and more of a calling.
“Every time you find a picture, you’ve given the soldier a face. You’ve given a face to that soldier,” she said.
The past is ever-present at Holloman’s home, which draws her closer to an uncle and an army of soldiers an ocean away who will be forever young in black and white.
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“Once you got that face, it’s a great feeling,” Holloman said. "So I want to make sure that, to the extent we can, we can share that with other families and let them know as well that their loved ones are not forgotten. I’ll keep doing it as long as I can. They deserve to be remembered.”
The eight soldiers from Virginia buried at Netherlands American Cemetery without a photograph are:
Charles W. Gray from Madison County, Virginia
Norman S. Mohler from Rockbridge County, VirginiaWill H. Nicholls from the City of Norfolk, Virginia
James M. Norrell from Montgomery County, Virginia
Henry W. Poff from Botetourt County, Virginia
Lester H. Tatem from the City of Norfolk, Virginia
Lloyd G. Thompson from Northampton County, Virginia
Robert W. Vance from Russell County, Virginia
There are hundreds of Virginia soldiers buried at the other five American military cemeteries that the Fields of Honor Foundation is honoring for whom they are seeking photographs. If you have a relative buried at the American cemeteries and can provide a photograph, please contact Debbie Holloman at daholloman@hotmail.com.
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