Introduction

This blog is dedicated to Martin Verhage and to the memory of his exploits during the Great War, WWI. It details the trip taken in the fall of 2010 by his daughter Marlene Verhage DeVries and two of his grandchildren, John H Bratt and Mary Ragagni, son and daughter of Harvey Bratt and Fran Verhage Bratt. It's important to remember that this trip would never have happened except for the involvement of John H Bratt over the last few years. John's involvement in studying National Archive records, journals, logs and maps, his endless pouring over Google Earth road maps and locations and his correspondence with people in the States and in Europe was tireless. Thank you John H Bratt. Your tireless effort made for a most wonderful and memorable trip, a trip that not many folks will travel in their lifetime. We will never forget the fall of 2010.

"When you remember me, it means you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are. It means that you can summon me back to your mind even though countless years and miles may stand between us. It means that if we meet again, you will know me. It means that even after I die, you can still see my face and hear my voice and speak to me in your heart."
— Frederick Buechner