Did you know a Jewish-American soldier was buried with Germans for 80 years?

We’re happy to report that another long-lost World War II soldier’s remains have returned to their rightful resting place, and that another rosette had been added to the Walls of the Missing in the Normandy American Cemetery. 1st Lieutenant Nathan B. Baskind, the platoon commander of four M-10 tank destroyers, has been found 80 years after his remains ended up in an unlikely place: a German mass grave.

Born in Pittsburgh, PA, to Eastern European immigrants, Baskind had a non-identical twin sister; family tradition holds that his middle initial “B.” stood for “Brother” and his sisters’ “S.” for “Sister” because the parents didn’t know how to fill in the birth certificate form properly. Drafted into service at the age of 26, his height of 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) became an asset in the cramped quarters of an M-10 tank destroyer (Read our earlier article).

Baskind’s four-vehicle platoon landed in Normandy on D-Day on Utah Beach with the 899th Tank Destroyer Battalion and advanced on the port city of Cherbourg (Read our earlier article). On June 23, Baskind took a jeep and a driver on a recon mission to scout out a firing position at a road junction that was supposedly already secured. They drove into a German ambush; machine gun and rifle fire knocked Baskind out of the vehicle and wounded him mortally. The driver made his way back to American lines and reported the event, but a search later in the day failed to recover Baskind’s body. Unknown to U.S. forces, Baskind was taken to a Luftwaffe field hospital by the Germans and died a few hours later. His remains were buried in a mass grave alongside two dozen German soldiers. Following the war, soldiers buried in this mass grave were moved to the Marigny German War Graves Cemetery close to the city of Saint-Lô.

In 1957, the German War Graves Commission unearthed the grave and found Baskind’s dogtag along with an American shirt bearing a 2nd Lieutenant’s insignia and Baskind’s unit patch, and sent news to the U.S. Army. It was, however, impossible to separate Baskind’s bones from those of the German deceased. Nevertheless, his name was recorded on the plaque standing by the gravesite.

Baskind’s case received new impetus in December 2022, when a New Jersey genealogist stumbled on his name among the online records of the German War Graves Commission. He sought the help of Operation Benjamin (Read our earlier article), an organization whose mission is to ensure that all Jewish-American soldiers of World War II rest under the Star of David. With the assistance of French and German authorities, the grave was opened again. Baskind’s short stature helped the researchers identify several candidate bodies, which were then subjected to genetic analysis and compared to Baskind’s living relatives. Though the chance of a match was slim, it miraculously happened. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has officially confirmed his discovery on May 10, 2024. Facilitated by the American Battle Monuments Commission (Read our earlier article), Baskind was reburied with full military honors and full Jewish rites on June 23, 2024, the 80th anniversary of his death, in the Normandy American Cemetery with his great-niece Samantha Baskind in attendance.

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