WWII Soldier Found After 80 Years, Buried with Honor

After 80 years buried in a mass grave with Nazi soldiers, a Jewish American officer finally rests among his brothers in arms at Normandy American Cemetery.

1st Lt. Nathan Baskind from Pittsburgh came ashore at Utah Beach on D-Day with the 899th Tank Destroyer Battalion. Just weeks later, on June 23, 1944, he was ambushed during the Battle of Cherbourg, shot, and taken prisoner by German forces.

He died that same day in a Luftwaffe field hospital. German soldiers buried him in a mass grave alongside 23 Nazi troops.

For nearly eight decades, the Baskind family had no idea what happened to their loved one. His great-niece, Professor Samantha Baskind, described the uncertainty as "a jagged scar that has run through our family."

The breakthrough came from an unexpected source. A genealogist working with Operation Benjamin, a nonprofit that corrects headstones for Jewish American soldiers, noticed something odd in a German military cemetery database: the distinctly non-German name Nathan Baskind.

Operation Benjamin started investigating and discovered Baskind had been considered missing for 79 years. They tracked down his family and began the complicated process of bringing him home.

Getting permission required cooperation from the U.S., Germany, and France. German War Graves Commission Brigadier General Dirk Backen initially declined based on failed 1950s identification attempts, but he reconsidered after seeing advances in DNA technology and a video message from Samantha Baskind asking for help.

In December, a team of 17 people spent three days carefully hand-exhuming the grave. They searched through thousands of bones, using Baskind's five-foot-five height as a crucial identifier.

The DNA analysis produced "an absolutely spectacular match," said Operation Benjamin co-founder Shalom Lamm. When he called Samantha with the news, both were stunned and deeply moved.

Why This Inspires

This story shows what's possible when people refuse to give up on bringing someone home. Operation Benjamin's dedication, combined with modern science and international cooperation, finally gave the Baskind family the closure they'd been missing for generations.

Brigadier General Backen's willingness to reconsider based on new evidence and a heartfelt plea demonstrates how compassion can cross even the most challenging boundaries. A team of strangers from multiple countries worked together to honor one soldier's sacrifice.

After eight decades, Nathan Baskind now rests where he belongs, surrounded by the comrades who fought beside him for freedom.