ELLENSBURG — Almost 80 years after his death, U.S. Army Capt. Donald H. Froemke is home.
And this time, it’s really him.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified Froemke’s remains, correcting an error when the wrong set of remains was sent back to his family in 1949.
Froemke’s flag-draped casket, a military dog tag attached to one of the handles, was brought to Brookside Funeral Home and Crematory in Ellensburg on Friday from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in a procession of law enforcement vehicles. The procession passed under a flag held aloft by a Kittitas Valley Fire and Rescue ladder truck, and Froemke was carried into the funeral home by an Army officer, a Washington State Patrol trooper and representatives of the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office and Ellensburg police as “The Army Song” played over a speaker.
“We’re glad he’s finally home,” said Ellen Holloway, Froemke’s niece who lives in Cle Elum. She wore a Purple Heart badge to represent Froemke, as well as mementos of her father and grandparents for the bittersweet homecoming.
Normandy
Froemke was born Oct. 15, 1912, in Clark the son of Henry and Emma Froemke. The family moved to Yakima, and in March 1941 he enlisted in the Army. On Sept. 2, 1942, Froemke was commissioned a second lieutenant; he was promoted to first lieutenant on May 4, 1943, and later shipped out to Europe.
He was assigned to Company B, 326th Airborne Engineer Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. Holloway said her uncle was a glider pilot, flying a crew of soldiers and equipment behind enemy lines.
His first combat experience was the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944. He was promoted to captain the following month.
In September 1944, Froemke and the 101st Airborne were dropped into the Netherlands as part of “Operation Market Garden,” which sought to liberate Holland as well as secure a route into northern Germany in hopes of bringing the war in Europe to a quick end.
The plan called for airborne troops to capture several key bridges, which British armored columns would then use to enter Germany.
While the paratroopers successfully took their objectives, the British tanks failed to reach the farthest bridge, encountering greater German forces than expected, as well as having their advance hobbled by the marshy country they were passing through.
Froemke was near Opheusden when his unit was attacked by German forces Oct. 5, 1944, and reports said he was killed by German fire as he tried to rescue a fellow soldier.
He was 31.
His posthumous awards include the Purple Heart, the World War II Victory Medal and the European campaign medal. He also received a Presidential Unit Citation as part of the 101st Airborne.
One soldier wrote describing where Froemke was buried, noting that he was buried with a dog tag on him, and another one attached to the grave marker.
Correcting an error
Military personnel were able to get to the area after the war and found a body in an Army uniform in a grave in a civilian cemetery marked with a cross with Froemke’s name. Those remains were classified as unknown, but another body that was believed to have been Froemke’s was sent to the family in 1949 and buried at Tahoma Cemetery.
Froemke’s remains were positively identified in August based on four pieces of circumstantial evidence, according to the military.
“I’m happy that they found his remains,” said Jesse Holloway, Froemke’s great-nephew.
Froemke will be buried in Tahoma Cemetery on Saturday, following a graveside service.
