Jack C. Beckwith

Private First Class Jack C. Beckwith was born on March 12, 1924 in LaMoure, North Dakota. Jack was the second child of Norman and Verlie Beckwith. He had an older sister, Norma Jean Beckwith. His parents divorces when he was five and at age seven his mother remarried to Severt Ohnstad. He has a half brother named Samuel. He used the surname Ohnstad until entering the military.

He sang in the church choir and played guard on his high school football team. He wanted to become a minister and spent a semester at Jamestown College in ND before being drafted.

He entered the US Army at Ft. Snelling, Minnesota on February 25, 1943 and served in the European African Middle eastern Theater. 

He was part of the 395th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division. He suffered from trench foot while in the Army but it wasn't bad enough to take him off the front lines. He died on 16 December 1944 in the first hours of the Battle of the Bulge while defending hill 627. His remains were left behind as the enemy advanced. After the war the Army deemed him unrecoverable.

His remains were found on Tuesday, 17 April 2001 by two Belgiums who were part of the MIA Project. They were looking for the remains of US service men to return them home.

He is on the wall of the missing at Henri-Chapelle Cemetery in Belgium and there is now a bronze rosette next to his name signafying he is no longer among the missing. He was intured at Henri-Chapelle on 22 June 2002 at his families request.