OTTAWA, Canada, 27th June, 1946.

Mrs. J.E. Fitzgerald,
2317 Maple Avenue,
New Westminster, B.C.

Dear Mrs. Fitzgerald:

A report has been received from the Royal Air Force Missing Research and Enquiry Service on the Continent giving the results of their investigations concerning the fate of your son, Flight Sergeant John Ernest Fitzgerald, D.F.M., and his crew.

The report states that at 3:30 A.M. on the morning of August 27th, 1944, the aircraft in which you son was flying was observed amongst a number of others in combat at a low altitude and was seen to crash over the estate of Mr. Svend Anderson at Traeden, Denmark. The local inhabitants were prevented from approaching the scene of the accident but saw the Germans recover the bodies of the crew which they transported to Gamle Rye Cemetery.

Due to the severe nature of the crash, however, Pilot Officer White was the only member of the crew who could be identified and the entire crew were interred in a communal grave and it is numbered Row 9, Plot 11, Grave #14, a photograph of which is enclosed.

The reverent care of the burial places of all who served in the Forces of the British Empire is the task of the Imperial War Graves Commission. Already eminent architects are at work, planning the construction of beautiful cemeteries and each individual grave will be supported and sustained by the nations of the Empire. I hope that it may be of some consolation to you to know that your gallant son's grave is in sacred care and keeping.

May I again extend my most sincere sympathy.

Yours sincerely,

(signature)

R.C.A.F. Casualty Officer,
for Chief of the Air Staff.