Published: July 05, 2008 08:33 pm         

Love of liberty:

PETERSTOWN — The love of liberty can live for generations and the spark of hope that fuels the fires of freedom knows no geographical or political boundaries for people who live free.

A family from the small village of Fraiture, Belgium placed flowers at the War Memorial of the Rowe Jones American Legion Post 0145 in Peterstown and paid their respects to an American hero who died more almost 64 years ago in a battle to help liberate their community after five years of Nazi occupation during World War II.

“What can I say?” Dominique Derauw said in perfect English coated with a thick French accent. “Although we weren’t even born when Lt. (Linwell) Rowe was killed in the sky over our village, participation in this service was very important to us. This was a guy who was only 18 or 19 years old, and he gave his life for us.”

The emotion of the moment caused tears to swell in the eyes of several members of Rowe’s family who attended the brief ceremony at the memorial. The crowd of about 60-70 people spilled out on U.S. Route 219, but traffic didn’t seem to mind. It was as though everyone who witnessed the gathering knew that something special was taking place.

“It makes you proud,” Larry Rowe said. He paused to collect his composure, but his voice broke as he said the words: “It makes you know we are remembered for the sacrifices we make for freedom.”

Rowe’s uncle, Lt. C. Linwell Rowe Jr., of Peterstown, was the co-pilot of a B-17 bomber, “The Treble Four,” that served as the lead plane in a 2,800 plane aerial armada — 2,000 bombers and 800 fighters — that represented the vanguard of the Allied counter-attack meant to break the German Army supply lines during the World War II Battle of the Bulge.

“It was the air armada ever to fly,” Rowe said, setting the stage for the Derauw family’s approach to the memorial. Rowe is a prominent Charleston-area attorney who is active in many social causes including preservation of the Booker T. Washington boyhood home in Malden.

Lt. Rowe left the co-pilot’s seat for the mission and took up a position as a tail gunner while General Frederick Castle flew in the Treble Four. The B-17 developed engine trouble on the flight, dropped out of formation and attracted the attention of German fighter pilots. The crew fought their attackers, shooting down two of the enemy fighters, but when the B-17 lost its second engine, Castle ordered the crew to parachute to safety while he attempted to fly the bomber into the German lines to spare the lives of American soldiers who were in the area.

Five of the nine crew members survived, but Castle died in the crash near Hods, Belgium. He was one of the highest ranking officers to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor during World War II.

Lt. Rowe managed to get out of the plane, but one of the German fighters returned to kill him as his parachute floated gently toward the Fraiture School. George Filee was 18 at the time of the incident on Dec. 24, 1944. According to Rowe, Filee was standing on the steps of the school filled with joy because of the freedom he had yearned for, but overwhelmed by the cost of that freedom as he watched the young American from Monroe County die.

The image stayed with Filee, and in 1998, his story captivated the imagination of Derauw, a physicist at the University of Liege, who found the 487th Bomb Group Veterans’ Association on the Internet and started the process of erecting a monument in Fraiture to honor the crew of the Treble Four who lost their lives on Christmas Eve of 1944. Filee and Derauw obtained a piece of a wing from the bomber that was in use as a wall in a barn, and gained support every step of the way and dedicated the monument in 1999.

“The Internet made all of this possible,” Rowe said.

“I think the people of my village were marked for life by what the Germans did during the five years of occupation,” Derauw said just moments before the service started. “It is difficult to explain how much the arrival of the Americans meant to the people who lived in Fraiture then and for all the generations who followed.”

The Derauw family got an unexpected treat when John E. Hall, 87, of Peterstown introduced himself to them. Hall also fought in the Battle of the Bulge, but on the ground.

“We weren’t out there where that bomber crashed, but I was in the battle,” Hall said. “I got three battle scars that day — Dec. 24, 1944.” Hall and Derauw talked about the towns the soldier visited when he was in that part of Belgium.

Rowe explained that the Peterstown Post is named in honor of both his uncle and Punch Jones, “two American officers who gave their lives during World War II. Derauw traveled to Peterstown with his wife, Sophie, an elementary school teacher (third grade) at Fraiture School, and their four daughters, Lucie, 18, Camille, 16, Elise, 14 and Valentine, 10. After the ceremony, the group traveled to the Peterstown Cemetery for a brief family service.

The service on Saturday was held as part of the annual Davis Family Reunion and was hosted by Rosa Rowe, widow of Eldridge E. Rowe Sr., and Jim and Margaret Shires. Rowe and his wife, Julia are hosting the Derauw family during their visit to the United States.

– Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com

     

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