I am sad to announce the passing of my mother, Gladys Sofia Clark. The name Sofia means love. Gladys Sofia Clark (Witting), 92, was born August 17, 1931, in Chicago,
Mieke Kirkels, a public historian in
the Netherlands, didn’t know about the gravediggers until a little over a decade ago. Only in 2014 did she learn that 172
African American soldiers are buried in Margraten. Now a team of Dutch historians, and an author in
Portsmouth, have embarked on several projects to spotlight these men. They are looking specifically for any relatives of the 172, some of whom hailed from
Hampton Roads. They want to include photos and histories of the men in The Faces of Margraten program.
Chris Dickon, in particular, said people should know about the soldiers’ sacrifices, especially when the military of World War II didn’t trust them to fight but only to help. Military policies then created painful consequences that linger in America and