MISSING: Sheila Fox

 

On 18 August 1944 around 4 p.m. 6-year-old Sheila Fox was seen leaving her school in Farnworth, Lancashire, England. Companions of Shiela would state that they would see the girl with a man with a bike outside of a bakery. Some accounts say she was on his upturned handlebars others said she was walking with him. 

One witness claimed they had talked with Sheila while she was with the man. Sheila told this person that she was "going with the man". This behavior would have been strange for the shy girl if she did not initially know or was comfortable with the man. 

Sheila's parents had initially hoped that she would return home. They did not want to believe that their daughter had met with some sort of foul play and instead had gone to London to meet friends. According to neighbors later they changed their mind and acknowledged that something had happened to their daughter. 

The Man was described as being a well-dressed, clean-shaven male with a slim build between 25 to 30-years-old. 

In 2001 a man who was 13-years-old at the time of the disappearance came to the police and told them he suspected his neighbor had hurt Sheila. He had seen him around that time digging in his garden. The garden was dug up, but there was no evidence. It was found out the suspected neighbor had been convicted of rape in 1950 and in the 1960's child rape. The man was deceased by then and his son stated he had no knowledge of anything requiring a police search. It's unknown if he had anything to do with Sheila's disappearance. 

Sheila is a white female and was 6-years-old at the time. She was wearing a blue-flowered frock, a green coat, stockings and shoes, and pink bows in her hair. 

SOURCES:

Doe Network

Wikipedia

The Line-Up

MISSING: Disappearance of Martha Nehring Pilnok

 On Jan. 15, 1944, 39 to 41-year-old Martha Pilnok was last seen in Valparaiso, Indiana. There is little information in this case.

Martha is a white female and was 39 to 40-years-old at the time. She was 5'2" and 130 to 150 lbs. She has light brown hair and brown eyes. Martha may go by the last names Nearing, Nehring, Pelnok, or Pilnok. Nehring was her maiden name.

The information on her characteristics came from a newspaper article in 1965. That can be found on Missing Person Commentary.
 

SOURCES:

NamUs

Web Sleuths

Missing Person Commentary

UNIDENTIFIED: September 8, 1944 Davis County, Utah John Doe

 On September 8, 1944, two boys discovered the body of a man on the salt flats 4 to 5 miles northwest of Kaysville, Utah. He'd been dead for around a year. His cause of death is unlisted or unknown.

He was an Asian or Native American male around 65-years-old. He was 5'2" and had grey or partially grey hair. He had no teeth. He was wearing faded green plaid trousers, red suspenders, a white t-shirt, and underwear. There was an empty eyeglasses case near him. 

SOURCES:

NamUs

Find a Grave

Unidentified Wiki

The Odgen Standard-Examiner September 12, 1944

MISSING: Glenn Miller

 

On March 1, 1904 Alton Glenn Miller, later known as Glenn Miller, was born in Iowa. His mother would pass on her love of music onto him. Growing up Glenn moved to several states in 1906 they moved to Nebraska, and then in 1917 they moved to Grant City, Missouri. In Missouri Glenn and his older brother Dean joined the community band. He played Trombone for them.

In 1918 they again moved, but to Fort Morgan, Colorado. He was a part of the football team, but did not give up on music. His passion for a new type of music called dance band music, even caused him and some fellow classmates to start their own band.

His passion for the music was so big in 1921 instead of staying for his graduation he wet to Wyoming to play in a band. His mother had to accept his diploma on his part. The principal even commented that she worked harder on it than Glenn did.

Glenn made the decision to become a professional musician. He had even signed a contract with a band called the Senators Stampedes. He had attempted to stay in college even was a part of the Boulder Orchestra, but it only lasted two years. He then went onto the Tommy Watkins Orchestra.

Glenn had played for several bands from Los Angeles to New York, and 1937 he finally decided to create his own band. It had failed, but he did not give up his dreams. He tried again in the March of 1939 and this time he gained recognition. By the fall of 1939 the band was known nation wide. They even played for the movies Sun Valley Serenade in 1941 and Orchestra Wives in 1942.

In 1942 Glenn thought it was best to serve in the military and support the troops. He was not drafted due to his older age and so he volunteered, but was initially rejected. After writing to the Army's Brigadier General Charles Young on August 12, 1942 he was accepted. He was hired to help bring more life to the military band and modernize them.

The last concert his civilian band played was on September 27, 1942. It was a sad occasion for the whole band. Their last song was supposed to be their theme song Moonlight Serenade. They could not finish it all the way.

Glenn became part of the Army Specialty Corps and conducted a 50 member Army Air Force Band. His goal was to bring some modernization to the military band. He wanted the troops to feel a touch at home with their music.

Like in his civilian life Glenn's Military Band was a hit. Some even claim that this was the best band he was a part of. The band gave over 800 performances many were for the troops, and some were broadcasts. They even played for the troops overseas

On December  15, 1944, Glenn boarded a single-engine C-64 plane from the UK to Paris. He was going to prepare the band to play. But Glenn never made it to France. It's believed that his plane crashed into the English Channel.

Glenn was a 40-year-old male. There aren't any other statistics for him. 

Sources:
Glenn Miller
Doe Network
War Time Entertainment in WWII
USO

STRANGE HISTORY: Blutfahne (Blood Flag)

 

The Blutfahne or the Blood flag was a sacred item of Nazi Germany. It was used in ceremonies sanctioning other Nazi flags during Hitler's reign.

It started at the Beer Hall Putsch on November 8 and 9 1923.  The Nazi party attempted to take over the government in Bavaria.  The Men were stooped by the Munich police and they fired upon them.

Heinrich Trambauer was carrying a Nazi flag when he was shot he fell dropping the flag. Andreas Bauriedl, who was marching next to Trambauer, was shot in the stomach and automatically died. When he fell to the ground he landed on the flag and soaked it with his blood.

This lead to Hitler's less than a year stay in prison and the creation of Mien Kampf. After Hitler was released the flag was essentially given to him and it became a symbol and ceremonial item.

Trambaur had taken the flag and had hidden it until he was able to give it to Karl Eggers. Eggers then gave the flag to Hitler once he was out of Landsberg Prison. The flag then was fitted for a new staff and a silver sleeve was dedicated to the martyrs from Putsch was placed upon it. It had the names of Bauriedl, Trambauer, and Von Stransky on it.

On July 4, 1926, the flag was presented by Hitler to the SA at the Party Rally in Weimar. The flag was given the name Blufahne. Hitler used it to consecrate new Nazi colors by holding it in one hand and Blufahne in the other.

Trumbauer was selected by Joseph Berchtold, leader of the SS at the time, to be the bearer of the Blutfahne. Due to poor health and later a skull injury, it was shared with  Jakob Grimminger until his death in 1942. Then Grimminger was the sole bearer.

The last time it was publicly seen was in April of 1944 at the funeral of Adolf Wagner. It was kept at the warehouse of Brown House in Munich but may have been destroyed during the Allied bombings in Munich.

It is unknown what had happened to the flag and if it even still exists.

SOURCES:
Axis History
History Extra
Wikipedia

MISSING: Edna Anne Kaminski

Sometime in August of 1944 23-year-old Edna Anne Kaminski was last seen by her family in Maspeth, New York. She left behind her husband and 20-month-old daughter. She's a white female and was 23 at the time. She's 5'6" to 5'8" and 130 lbs. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

SOURCES:
NamUs
National Missing Person Directory

MISSING: Richard David "Pee Wee" Marlow

On July 18, 1944, 9-year-old Richard "Pee Wee" Marlow and his older brother decided to stay home as the rest of the family went to the movies. Richard decided to stay home because he went to the movies the day before. He was playing outside on his bike in front of his home in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada. His older brother was keeping an eye on him from inside the house. This was when he went missing, and his bike was still in the yard.

It's believed that someone abducted the 9-year-old. He came from a good home and it was seen as he had no reason to run away. He was a bright and shy kid. He was known to even get to school early. He would never talk to strangers let alone go into a dark room by himself. Making it unlikely he ran away.

Richard is a white male and was 9 at the time. He was 3'8" to 4'0" and 50 lbs. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. He has a scar on the right temple. He was wearing a striped jersey, blue pants, grey socks with a yellow band, a dark blue nylon windbreaker and a ring "KL" aluminum.

SOURCES:
Canada's Missing
The Star
Doe Network

UNIDENTIFIED: June 5, 1944 Carnival Girl, Liverpool, Ohio

On June 5, 1944, a highschooler found the body of a woman among the weeds along State Street in Liverpool, Ohio around 7 a.m. He was walking and noticed feet peeking out from under blankets and automatically ran and called the police. Under the blankets was a nude young woman with a ripped slip pulled up underneath her arms. She had been strangled to death and was likely died around 5 a.m. The blankets seemed to have some wear and there was a new clothesline with them.

The next day a man was hunting for a canvas to build his children a play tent. He was rummaging through trash at Columbia Park where a carnival played the previous week. He came across a torn dress and another dress and skirt with rips.

A man would later put in a tip that around 4:10 a.m. he was putting his car in the garage when he saw a car. The car did not have its lights on when it went down State Street. The witness remembered that the plates were not that of Ohio.

It was thought that it was possible she was a dancer for the Carnival. She resembled one of the dancers that wasn't in the show in Lima where they went next, but later the carnival stated the girl had been found. By this time though the girl was called "Carnival Girl".

She was a caucasian female between 25 and 30-years-old. She was 5'6" and 125 lbs. She had Chesnut colored hair and brown. Her ears were pierced and she was wearing small hoops.

SOURCES:
Unidentified Wiki
East Liverpool Historical Society
Unsolved Murders & Disappearances in Northwest Ohio chapter 8
Something is Out There 
The Evening Independent  June 6, 1944
The Coshocton Tribune June 9, 1944
News-Journal June 9, 1944