Earl and James Des Jardins: a legacy of respect

Earl and James Des Jardins left their family farm in Wisconsin more than 80 years ago, and never returned. But, thanks to the efforts of a nephew neither lived long enough to meet, their memory lives on.

The two brothers each enlisted and served as WWII fighter pilots following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Earl left first. A second lieutenant and pilot on the 885th Bombardment Squadron, Earl flew missions from his base in Algeria. “Don’t be in a hurry to get here,” he wrote his brother James.

And, truthfully, James was in no hurry. He enjoyed his life as a student at Ripon College. An Army Recruiter had told him and his friend Bob DeCaster that, if they enlisted right then, they wouldn’t get called up until after the school year.

But, they got the call shortly after they signed the paperwork. James went on to serve as a second lieutenant and fighter pilot, stationed in Martlesham Heath, England.

Sadly, the two brothers died in action within 10 weeks of each other in 1944.

Their stories might have died with them, but for the efforts of their tenacious relative.

Retired Circuit Court Judge John Des Jardins grew up wondering about the two men whose pictures held a place of honor on his grandparent’s mantel. One day, he asked his grandma about them,

“The first time I asked about the pictures she broke down and cried,” he said. “I learned you don’t talk about it.”

He didn’t talk about it then, but he never let go of his curiosity. After his grandparents died, he began his quest to honor his uncles in earnest.

Thanks largely to his efforts, his Uncle James, who had been MIA since 1944, was identified among remains found in a German pond and returned to his family in 2011. James was buried with full military honors in Green Bay.

Both men died heroically.

On Sept. 12, 1944, Earl and his crew took off from Algeria on a mission to drop containers and packs to the underground in Northern Italy. Due to bad weather and a navigation error, their plane crashed into a mountain in France, killing everyone aboard.

Their bodies were initially buried in Fontan town cemetery, then moved to a temporary cemetery in Luynes, and finally in the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Kentucky, USA.

A few weeks later, James was strafing a German train when his plane took a hit. He was declared Missing in Action, though the family never heard the full story until many years later.

“Once I got out of law school in 1978, I was doing some research and I found out their groups had reunions,” John said. “It was somewhat disappointing at first because no one remembered exactly what had happened.”

Later, flight leader Ed Nebinger checked his journals and discovered he’d written exactly what had occurred.

“I was watching Des Jardins make a pass on the same yard and when I saw him get hit by light flak and flame started coming from his right wing. He pulled up to about 400 feet, but then fell off on one wing and crashed into a pond with an enormous splash. I didn’t see any chute and I don’t think he got out.”

John not only gathered all the information he could about his uncles, he and his wife also flew to England a few weeks ago to visit Marthlesham Heath Control Tower Museum, where they saw James’ name in the USAAF Role of Honour Book and engraved on a plaque in the museum.

“I almost felt like I was walking on sacred ground,” John said. “To me it was a spiritual moment in my life. I always wanted to visit that place and project a sense of gratitude for the sacrifices they made.”

You can see more of Earl and James’ story by visiting a display John helped put together at Austin Straubel Field in Green Bay.