Finally 2020 is coming to an end and I for one is hoping for a much better 2021. It has been a strange year and because of lockdowns, closed borders and quarantines, the International Legenda team sadly couldn`t travel and meet with the rest of Legenda in Latvia. I guess we are all crossing our fingers for that the upcoming summer expedition will be possible to arrange and that the world will return to "normality".
The Latvian part of the team has tried to be as busy as possible and has gotten lots done. Hundreds of soldiers from all sides of both World Wars have been found and recovered, several of them have been successfully identified. A few reburials has been arranged, reuniting lost soldiers with their comrades, and giving families and relatives a final resting place for their loved ones, and also a lot of live and unexploded ordnance have been removed from fields and forests. 
Legenda have seen a rise in support from the public, the followers, and have also gotten a couple of sponsors : Minelab, Tero-Vido and Deutsches Wehrkundearchiv. A big thanks goes out to all you supporters!
So here is to a continued success and a better 2021!! 
-Happy New Year!!
- inka

If you are not already doing it, please follow the Legenda Facebook page:
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The sponsors:
​www.deutsches-wehrkundearchiv.de/
www.minelab.com/
www.tero-vido.com/
​

Very early on the morning the last day of September my Girlfriend dropped me off at the airport in Tromsø in Northern Norway. A few hours later I stepped out of a taxi outside the hotel downtown Riga where I almost collided with our American member Jason who had arrived a few hours before me. Later on the day we met with Victoria and in the evening Andris joined us and took us to the "Brothers Cemetery with the Eternal Flame". That was a very interesting cemetery in the middle of Riga where thousands of Latvian soldiers from both world wars is buried. On tuesday Anton arrived from Sweden and Anders flew in from Denmark but he drove directly to the resort in Kurland since our host there, Kristine, arrived at the same time as him. Next morning we gathered up by the Riflemen monument and met up with Talis and part of the Latvian team and took off towards Jelgava where the rest of the team also arrived. 

In Jelgava is a Commonwealth cemetery where 36 British soldiers from WW1 is buried and here we put down flowers and candles before we drove to the house of an old lady in a forest near the Lithuanian border. Since 1944 7 German soldiers have been buried between the apple trees in her backyard and she has cared for these graves her whole life. She had kept a diary from 1944 with the names of these soldiers written down. At one point she had contacted the German Volksbund about them but Volksbund found it too few soldiers to spend money on a recovery, so she finally contacted us. We quickly found the outlay of the graves and went to work. Soldier after soldier was uncovered and two of them was still wearing their helmets. The reason for this was that they both had big head injuries as we could see on the heavily damaged skulls. Around mid day she brought us a big lunch with coffee, sandwiches and cake and a few hours later we had completed the work. It had been an emotional day for all of us. 

Next morning it was nice and foggy when the diggers gathered for breakfast. Today we were going to WW1 positions outside Riga where Vlad again had located several fallen soldiers that had been dumped into shell holes after the battles. In one of the holes was five soldiers laying on top of eachother and a kilometer away another two soldiers was exhumed. For lunch Talis prepared his legendary tomato soup which really warmed and filled us up good. This day we also helped a famous Latvian band who was making a music video for an upcoming movie about WW1. 
Some of the diggers roamed around with the detectors and collected live ammo for the EOD to dispose of and doing that one of the Latvians found a Latvian Riflemens badge in quite good condition. Other than that lots of shrapnel and rifle ammo was found. In the evening, after dinner, Gary held a safety- / First aid course which is important in case of an accident.

Friday morning we went to a farm near Priekule where fieldgraves belonging to Division Nordland had been located. Thanks to maps and the story of an old lady Talis and the team had found this place earlier this summer. The old lady remembered that it had been several wooden crosses near the farm she grew up on. One day soldiers had come and told her and her family to leave as the frontline came closer. A few months later she returned to find the whole area destroyed, no house nor crosses was there any longer. Our mini-digger took off the top layer of the soil and we could get to work. Several of the soldiers had ID tags, most of them belonged to a SS Panzer unit but between them was a soldier from Kriegsmarine as we could tell from his uniform buttons. A few meters away from the fieldgraves a digger had a signal from his detector and carried on to dig out a shovel,but next to the shovel was bones and another soldier laying where he had fell was exhumed, missing in action since the war.
On this site we dug out a lot of unexploded ordnace which was collected for the EOD, and also lots of bits from a blown up Sherman tank was found.
After the job was done we drove to the Red Army Cemetery in Priekule and prepared for next days reburial. Back at the resort Kristine served us a great dinner, some of us got special treatment and had cheeseburgers, and we celebrated Talis` and Ralfs` birthdays.

On Saturday we had an early breakfast because we had to prepare for the reburial ceremony. As the rest of the team drove to the cemetery in Priekule I took two Danish journalists to the German War Cemetery in Saldus so they could get some photos and videos from there. When that was done we joined up with the others for the reburial. Lots of people showed up, local people, Government officials and even a bus full of pensioners from Riga. As the sun heated the frosty grounds we laid 107 Red Army soldiers to rest. 
The rest of the day we spent on a nearby field where the frontline had been in 1944/45. Next to the road two German soldiers were found and next to them several live large caliber shells. Around on  the field more ordnance was dug up and a few war relics too, for example a SS belt buckle and a pocket knife with engravings from a SS soldier. Again police was called in and they contacted the EOD.

Sunday , and the last day of the expedition we went on the check a few places. We had maps showing graves and field cemeteries which the Norwegian author Geir Brenden had given us. We dug alot but could not find anything this time unfortunately. Some live stuff was found and collected for the EOD on every site and on one of the site Steve dug out a nice German helmet. Around lunchtime we drove back the the site we had uncovered the fieldgraves two days ago to see if we could find any more missing in action soldiers. As the day went on the pile of live ammo grew and soon the EOD arrived to collect it all, and they filled their little trailer with probably 80-100 pieces of artillery shells, mortar rounds and anti-tank shells. As the day came to an end a single soldier was found between the rubble of a destroyed farm building, but no ID on him unfortunately. 
Evening was approaching and the expedition had to come to an end, so we shook hands and gave out hugs before some of us went back to Riga for a last dinner and a few beers together. In total we had found 25 soldiers who all will be buried on their respective War Cemeteries.
Talis and Ilgonis dropped us off near the hotel and we could finally get some clean clothes after some half hour long showers. Victoria went to get us a table at Rock Cafe and walked into one of our old friends and digger from Legendas early years, Richard West, and it was great seeing him again.
Next morning me and Anton shared a taxi to the airport where we randomly met another of our Diggers, Dainis who was going to USA for holiday so it was really a nice end of the expedition.
In the evening I was met by Girlfriend who picked me up and as we drove home the sky lit up with an amazing Aurora Borealis which we stood watching for a good half hour. It was good being back home :)

Thanks to all who made the expedition possible and all the participants. Can`t wait to see you all again.

​Keep Smiling :)

Stepping out of the plane at Riga Airport I realized my mistake. I had brought about 5 kg too much clothes. Having moved further North in Norway, up to Tromsø where it is reindeers in the streets, had made me forget that it is not cold, piercing winds and snow everywhere else. After getting off a layer of clothes I wandered towards the Ala Folkbar where I found the Diggers in a happy mood around a table. It was on. The International Spring Expedition had begun and it was awesome to be back. A few new guys had found their way here, and was together with this years Legenda Prize Draw winner, Michael from Denmark, excited to get into the forest. 
Early next morning we carried our stuff a few hundred meters to the pick-up point and met up with our Latvian friends. On our way to the first dig site we met up with the rest of the Latvian crew and our Lithuanian team. 
Vlad had been busy searching WW1 positions south of Riga and he had located several massgraves on a sandy ridge where the old frontline once stood.  Vlad has found hundreds of missing soldiers and I had made him a small piece of relic-art to honor his work. On a piece of shrapnel I had made a miniature of a WW1 memorial which once stood on a WW1 cemetery where missing soldiers Vlad has found have been reburied recently.
As soon as we had parked the cars and covered ourselves with mosquito spray digging began.

Everyone was busy. In one end of the ridge a trenchline with a single fallen soldier was being dug, next a crater that seemed to be filled with soldiers and a bit further away a third pit with many soldiers laying. Some guys went around checking the ground with probes and detectors to try find more lost soldiers, and a couple of guys started up our Livestream video. The gnats and mosquitos was prehaps the busiest though, having a feast on us. 
Having most of the top soil removed and the size of each massgrave established the work slowed down abit as we carefully uncovered the soldiers remains showing how they lay and what equipment and such they had been wearing the day they were buried. Several of them had crosses and small icons, some ammo pouches and handgrenades as well as boots and greatcoats. On some soldiers we found shrapnel embedded in their bones, one of them had pieces of a wooden sole from a boot stuck in his hip and on some we could see where bullets and shrapnels had went through the bones. On the soldier Steve and Anders were working they found  an award that identified the soldier even before he was completely exhumed and also a small gold cross was found on him.
Evening approached but one of the massgraves was still full of soldiers so we decided to cover it up and go back to complete the job on the last day of the expedition. 
On the lovely resort, Radi , in Kurland, the Prize Draw winner recieved the Legenda badge to put on his jacket and we had a great dinner and a little party before sleep caught up to us.

A bit jaded after the night before diggers stumbled into the main room for breakfast and coffee before the "Davaij"s herded us into the vans. Almost exactly a year ago a Norwegian author and researcher contacted me with some maps and sketches of field cemeteries, Missing in Action reports and field grave maps he had found. This was handed over to Talis, the Boss of Legenda, and during winter and spring he began checking out the information. A few of the sites had been exhumed by Volksbund in the early 90s it appeared, but several of the sites had still not been found. We followed some dusty farmers roads between fields outside Priekule following a map showing where a Waffen SS Divison Nordland field cemetery should be. This was going to be hard work as the ground was hard clay and the site supposedly should be in the field so it would be no cover from the blistering sun. It was early morning but already the temperature crept up towards 30+ Celsius. The Digger machine started up opening trenches as we tried to locate the grave site. Many diggers spread out in the surrounding forest seeking shade while trying their luck with the metal detectors and probes. Hours went by and no cemetery found. Luckily two soldiers were found laying where they fell a few meters inside the forest. The frontline had rolled over the area a few times and battlediscards and unexploded ordnance laid everywhere. We collected the unexploded stuff in a pile for the Police and EOD. I had given up hope on finding the cemetery and it seemed that was the case all around when one of the Digger insisted on trying to search close by the place we had parked. On one of the first shovel scoops we could hear the shouts : "Soldier! Bones! " This could be it. The trench was expanded and side by side we could see grave after grave! Success! On the map we had it showed it should be two lines of graves, but of course it could be more, and we didn`t know how many soldiers were in each row. We found ID tags on several of the soldiers and on two of them we found helmets, both heavily battle damaged. One of the helmets had a clear SS decal still intact. The bones of the soldiers were in a poor condition as the soil here was agressive and the farmers had been using chemical fertilizer, but we managed to exhume what was left of them.
The heat was intense but a small breeze kept us going until we had completed the first line of the cemetery. It was late afternoon so the second line would be dug a few days later. 
The guys having roamed around the forest came back with some interesting bits. A Sherman lendlease tank had been blown up in the battles here and track links, parts and huge chuncks of it was dragged out by the diggers. The engine radiator hatch found by Matt and Steve was incredibly heavy but none the less loaded into the van. On the way back to the resort we stopped by a farmer that had contacted us suspecting it could be some soldiers buried next to his house. We opened up a big ditch but found only some rusted boot heel irons and pioneer wires.

Thursday and day 3 of the expedition was the day for some Free-Hunting, we had no set plans but to roam some frontline positions searching for lost soldiers more or less on random, we opened up some trenchlines and bunkers, and we opened up some cellars from the farms destroyed during the battle. Also we cleaned away what we could find of unexploded ordnance which EOD came to pick up in the afternoon. The day went on and the pile of found relics grew. My only find was a MG spare barrel container and a bunch of shrapnel, but several helmets came in from the field and forests and from one of the cellars a nice Heer beltbuckle was found.
In the evening we got back to the resort sunburnt and mossie bitten and had a Swedish Surströmning party after dinner. For those who hasn`t heard of this dish it is basically canned rotten fish. I wasn`t among the brave bunch who tasted it :D
​

Having gained new energy from all the rotten fish the Diggers were ready to roll out around 08 next morning. We were going to another field which held a Division Nordland field cemetery. This one had also been found through the material we recieved from the Norwegian researcher. On this site it should be at least 7 soldiers and on the map one of their names was written. We removed the farmers electrical fence, which luckily had been turned off, and opened up the ground so we could see in what direction the line of graves would be. Now it became clear it would be more than seven soldiers as we could see it was more than two lines of graves. The place became busy and attracted attention from the neighbours who weren`t used to this kind of activity on a regular Friday. A bunch of kids came up showing off relics they had found around their houses. As the exhumation went on we could see how the agressivness of the soil and the use of chemical fertilizer eroded on the bones and metal found on the soldiers. We found many ID tags and even if the corrosion had come far we could read them after some cleaning. These were soldiers from several Divison Nordland regiments made up of boys and men volunteering from around Europe and also a ID tag from KL Ravensbrück. Line after line of graves covered the field as the day went on and in one of the graves a soldier had been buried in a coffin, probably an officer, and maybe the name marked on the map. Next to him was a bottle containing a paper note. Usually bottles like this were corked and placed cork down in the grave so moisture wouldn`t get into them, this way they would easily help to identify the buried soldiers when recovering them after their planned victory. Sadly the cork in this bottle had rotted and water getting into it had destroyed the paper. 
On some of the soldiers we found rests of shoulderboards and uniform effects, and two surviving bits of cloth were the Arm Shield with the Norwegian flag from two soldiers belonging to Regiment Norge. This regiment was mostly made up by Norwegians and other Scandinavians having volunteered and many of them are still listed as missing in action. A spectacular find.
Another fantastic moment was when an old man came by and shared his story. He had been a kid when his safe little childhood world became a frontline. He remembered a soldier marching by had given him a candy, and some days later he saw the same soldier being carried back dead, and buried on this site. It was amazing being part of that little moment in history!
We saw that the last line of graves stretched under the road which hadn`t been there during the war and we needed to open it up. It took a quick call to the Mayor who instantly gave us the green light, as we promised to repair it once done. 
The weather had gone from boiling sun to a storm growing and we had a race with the rain. The weather-gods seemed pleased with us because as we rolled out with the last car over the filled in and repaired road, the river of rain broke loose on us. It had been an amazing recovery and we headed towared Radi for dinner and the Legenda 20 Year Birthday party with cake, gifts and a firework only Legenda can display.

Sunday morning we were up early and it felt like the week had passed so fast but yet it felt like it had lasted forever. Still, last day and we had to complete our work. We said goodbye to Kristine and drove towards the WW1 positions outside Riga. The massgrave still held several soldiers. We removed the layer of sand we had covered them with and continued the exhumation. They lay on top of each other and looked like they had been thrown into the shellhole. One of them had a enamel drinking cup and the soldier underneath him had shrapnel balls stuck in his bones. After a few hours carefull work the soldiers were out of the ground and the very last find was an award with a number which might give the identity back to one of the soldiers. 
We had recovered 83 soldiers in total this expedition, and found ID tags on about 1/3 of them and they will all be buried on official War Cemeteries in Latvia and hopefully some families will get to know what happened with their family members.
Time had come to say goodbye as some drove straight to the airport and some of us went to Riga to wait for our flights out and back home and the Latvian and Lithuanian teams had shorter ways home. Over a few beers in Riga the last of us in the International team decided it had been an exellent expedition although prehaps the warmest one in mans memory...

​We made Livestreams every day, I ve collected these and you can see them all in my next post.

Hope to see you again soon my friends:)

We have a new competition where you can win a chance to come search for missing soldiers with us, follow the link here :
kurlandlegends.wordpress.com/2018/10/26/legenda-prize-competition-2019/

Also we have made up a new batch of the very popular support badges shown in the pic above. To get one, follow the instructions below:

​They are £15 each which includes free worldwide shipping.
To purchase a Legenda supporters badge please click our PayPal link here :
https://paypal.me/legendadonate
***********Important**********
Please write supporter badge purchase in the PayPal message/add note box plus your street address for shipping.
Get yours now before they are are all gone !

You can also help us with donation, every penny goes a long way, follow the link below:
www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/matthew-mcdermott?utm_term=zYeyrpBQd

All badge sales plus the JustGiving donations and ticket sales from the competition we are currently running will all be going towards the continuing recovery work legenda do and we thank you again for your continuing support.
The Legenda team.
​

Autumn had arrived and the Diggers was itching to get out to the forests doing what they do best. After discussing it with Talis , the Boss , we decided a fitting date and invitations went out to the International team and in middle of October we arrived from all over Europe and met up in Riga ready for an expedition. The first evening was spent chatting and laughing over some good food and a few drinks , but next morning we was up early and met with the Boss and some of the Latvians and we drove out of Riga as the morning sun poured its yellow rays through the narrow cobblestone streets of the Old Town. After a short drive we parked by a monument in the forest commemorating the Latvian Riflemen who fought for their country in the winter of 1916-17.
Around Christmas 1916 the site witnessed some fierce battles as two Latvian Rifle Regiments attacked and broke through the German dug outs on the sandy highrise. The Germans did not expect the attack as it was early morning and a snow blizzard with temperatures down to -35 degree Celsius. The Latvians took over the positions and held them through the German counter attacks in January 1917. After the battles fallen soldiers from both sides lay where they fell and some was later picked up and thrown into shell craters and trenchlines where still hundreds if not thousands is still missing.
 Vlad , a digger from the Latvian team , had spent a lot of time in the forests here on Machinegun Hill locating many of these soldiers and now we was here joining up with the Latvian and Lithuanian teams of Legenda to help recover these lost souls.
​

The team spread out in smaller groups and began opening up trenchlines and shell holes , while some took detectors and searching probes trying to locate more of the missing soldiers. As the morning went on the piles of yellow sand was high and bones of the missing soldiers started to show so the work slowed down as we carefully cleared them from the soil , showing how they were laying and what items they had on them when they were buried. We always take great care searching for any item that can identify them such as medals , awards , wedding rings or other equipment engraved with their name.
Working like this makes the diggers hungry and Roberts was busy preparing us a hot meal and when Talis called out to us we gathered up and was fed. 
In the evening we had uncovered lots of fallen soldiers but as darkness came fast we didn`t have time to complete the work. We drove to our Resort in Kurland and was greeted by our host Kristine at Radi where we had an exellent dinner and a good nights rest in soft beds.

Early next morning we had a big breakfast and hurried back towards the Machinegun Hill to continue the work. The forest floor was still misty from the night as we climbed down into the opened shell holes with our brushes and tools and we began clearing bodies from sand. In the crater me , Anton , Anders , Arno and a few of the Lithuanians was working a mouse had crawled down and it made us jump as it ran out of the eye of a skull and into the next one. We lured it out and got it safely out from the crater so we could work undisturbed.  In the crater was 18 soldiers and most of them was badly damaged by shrapnel and detonations and many of them still had a lots of their equipment on them , ammo and gasmasks , and some of their woolen greatcoats was still intact. 
Around lunchtime a school class came by on an excursion and got a memory for a lifetime when they stood around a large pit with lots of fallen and got a small lecture by Viktors Duks. Also a team from the Latvian National TV visited and did a lot of filming and several interviews of us.
In the afternoon most of the soldiers had been exhumed , 62 in total , and on two of them we found numbered awards so at least those two will be identified.
We had found some live explosives that we collected around a tree and in the evening police and EOD came to collect those as they still can be very dangerous and the forest is frequently visited by tourists , mushroom pickers and hikers so it is best to get those things removed safely.
​Back at the resort we had a great dinner and a small celebration for a successfull two days work.

With the work on Machinegun Hill done we was heading out to Zvarde forest in Kurland on the morning of day 3 to search for missing soldiers from WW2. Kurland saw heavy battles in 1944 and 45 with tens of thousands fallen on both sides as the Red Army numerous times tried to break the German lines. Zvarde lay in the midst of the area where the Red Army concentrated their attacks and fallen soldiers can be found anywhere. We had a small digger machine to help us open up deep trenchlines and bunkers as the soil there is heavy clay which is difficult to dig. The area had before the war belonged to a milk factory and its bullet ridden ruin is still standing. The grassy fields for the cows is today a rather thick forest but one can still see where the trenchlines zigzagged their way along the road. The detectors picked up signals everywhere and mostly shrapnel and casings from numerous wepons was found , together with live anti tank rounds , mortar and artillery  grenades that we collected for the EOD. 

For the next two days the forest became a busy place with diggers following the trenchlines the excavator had opened up and here and there a soldier was found and carefully exhumed. Next to the ruin three soldiers was found atop of eachother in a well shaft , and a small silver medallion and rubber boot soles indicated they were Red Army soldiers. Further into the forest in a shallow irrigation ditch one of the diggers found another Red Army man laying where he had fell. Andris and Toms went around with camera making livestream videos which you can watch on Legendas Facebook page :  www.facebook.com/Legenda.Diggers/ 
In one of the trenchlines opened up a badly damaged German soldier was exhumed and an Erkennungsmärke bent by a detonation was found near him. Other items found in and around the trenchline cleary showed the force of a shell impact. Several fired casings from different weapons also told a story about heavy fighting. Following the same trenchline a bunker or dug out was opened and there another German soldier was found , still with his rifle , gasmask , M24 hand grenade and helmet. His Erkennungsmärke was also on him so he is no longer a M.I.A. Two woolen M43 caps with the mushroom badge from Div. 205 was also found there. 
Some of the diggers found interesting things while metal detecting around in the forest , a LP 42 Leuchtpistole and a great looking German helmet with a rubberized winter cover being the two most interesting finds. 
It had become sunday late afternoon and the work came to an end for this time with 10 soldiers recovered , 8 Red Army soldiers and 2 Germans , that will all be laid to rest in War Cemeteries in Latvia. 
The last day is always a mix of feelings as it is time for Goodbyes , but hot showers and the bed at home is luring in the distance and this sunday was just like that. 
People had flights to catch and in the evening me , Anders and Anton had a dinner and a few drinks together before we called it quits. My flight was early Monday so I took a taxi to the airport where the custom officials checked all my pockets and belongings before they let me into the boarding area. As I walked towards my gate I felt a hand on my shoulder and a voice saying "Please stop , Airport security !" I knew I wasn`t bringing anything illegal but I still jumped a bit , turned around and saw the laughing face of Anders who was waiting by his gate :D We got to say another goodbye before I boarded my plane back home to the North where my Girlfriend and kitties was waiting for me with hugs and a nice dinner.
Thanks to all involved for a very nice expedition , and until next time : Keep Smiling ! :)
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Winter had felt extra long this year, not because it was more cold or dark, but because we had a surprise for the Boss. On last years expedition a plan had been born and in the autumn put into action. We had decided to get the Boss a new vehicle. His trusted old van was about to fall apart and he would soon enough be in need of a new ride. We began collecting funds by holding raffles, getting sponsorships, auctions and we held a competition where the winner would get a trip to come with us on the expedition. With Steve Newman in charge of the operation a car was sourced and bought late in the winter. As we got close to the expedition the car was moved to Latvia and all papers arranged and the car was hid, waiting for the handover.
Parallel to this my own car was dying on me, the choice stood between costly repairs or a new car which probably would be cheaper. After some searching the choice fell on a VW Transporter T4 which was in good technical condition. For a long time I had wanted a bigger car and had a dream about making it into a minicamper. Me and Girlfriend spent a few weeks in spring building the interior of it and ca a week before the expedition it was ready. (More about the minicamper project here:  expedition-van-vw-t4.html )
Girlfriend had gotten a job she had to prepare for so unfortunately she couldn`t join the roadtrip to Latvia as planned and I had to go alone. She made me a big lunchpack though and sent it with me an early Sunday morning. By nighttime I had driven from the Polar Circle in Norway to a small town outside Helsinki in Finland where I found a nice place to park. After many hours behind the wheel it wasn`t hard falling asleep on the comfortable bed. I woke up early and drove to the harbour where I ferried over to Estonia and sped across half the Baltic to the farm outside Riga. Later in the afternoon I walked towards the hotel to check -in when I saw a bunch of Diggers waving at me from a bar. The next days was spent in good company, enjoying the city, visiting museums and markets and having good food and beer.

Wednesday morning the reception in the hotel was busy with camo clad guys getting ready to go digging. A few of the guys looked a bit jaded from last nights escapades, but I was fresh, I had been wise and kept the beer drinking to a minimum this year, but Im a proud winner of a few Worst Hangovers from earlier years. 
Around the corner from the hotel we saw some vans waiting for us. It was great to meet the Latvian team again and after a short drive out of the city we stopped by a gasstation and met up with the rest of the Latvians. From here the road took us into the forest to Machine Gun hill where fierce winter battles took place in December 1916. Positions on the high rise changed hands and when German troops retook it they cleared away the fallen largely by placing them in craters and old trenchlines.
We parked near a German cemetery from the battles and spread out into the forest towards the fighting positions. We began searching craters by probing the ground, which consists of fine sand here, and soon the probing indicated that there would be bones underground. We dug down ca 1 and half meter before we saw the first bones through the sand. We widened the crater a bit and started to carefully remove the sand and uncovering the remains. 
In the end we uncovered 7 Imperial Russian soldiers. On the bones we could see damages, broken bones,missing limbs, embedded shrapnel and it all told a story of battle. Some of the soldiers had vallets, gasmask, ammo, icons, coins and buttons which were collected and bagged together with the soldier it was found along. Unfortunately no ID was found on them. Somewhere else in the forest some of the team had found a fallen German soldier and recovered him.

After having made sure we hadn`t missed any bones or items the crater was filled back and a new search began. I took a little break and joined a few guys and made a trip to a small Christmas Battle museum that lay a few minutes drive away. Here the owners had recreated part of the trenchline with nice positions and bunkers, and its a small exhibition in a building. A really nice little museum and it is used for reenactments and filming, well worth a visit.
When we got back the whole team relocated a few kilometers along the positions and spread out into the forest again. Here two more Imperial Russian soldiers were found and exhumed from a trench. 
It had been a long day and we drove to Radi in Kurland towards the evening. Here we found our rooms and had a great dinner together. A few beers were consumed in the evening and many a laugh shared, and I think everyone fell asleep as soon as their heads fell on the pillows.

Soon after breakfast next morning we crossed Latvia from Kurland to the South Eastern part near the Lithuanian border. Today we were going to try find a German WW2 field cemetery. In the summer of 1944 the German army were on retreat from Lithuania and on a farm across the border the Germans had set up a small field hospital to care for the wounded. Reports had it that at least 14 soldiers had been buried here after being killed in combat during the retreat. We began probing the area pointed out to us and opened up test holes where the probing indicated there might be something. The ground here was hard and heavy clay so it was a harder job than the day before but it didn`t take long before bones had been found. 
The spot in the forest became busy. Branches and small trees were cut down and several holes opened, and soil heaps moved out of the way. In grave after grave the diggers had come down to the layers with the remains and the place became a bit quieter as the work took on another intensity. In two of the graves soldiers had been buried in coffins , and on most of the uncovered remains battle damages could again be seen. ID tag after ID tag was brought to the Boss who cleaned them, photoed them and wrote down the info on them and made notes on which soldier they had been found. It was a mixed unit with soldiers from Kriegsmarine, Grossdeutschland Division, a Luftwaffe guy and different Heer units. Two of the soldiers had Demjansk shields , and one of the soldiers didn`t have a ID tag, but hopefully his name is in the records. All of these soldiers had been registered as Missing in Action since the war.
The new guys digging with us had done a great job and the two film crews following us this expedition had been busy getting good shots and making interviews.
Back in Kurland another team of diggers had found a Red Army massgrave and at least 30 had been recovered when evening came. At Kristines resort Radi we ate until we were full and spent the rest of the evening having fun.

Friday morning we were up early. It was time for the big surprise. The handover of the Legenda van. After breakfast we told Talis that we had a surprise and we blindfolded him and sat him down on a chair. Toms stealthily drove the van on to the lawn in front of the resort and the blindfold was removed. The Boss was very happy to be the new owner of this exellent car, and we were all happy for him and that we had been so successful with our plan, and we want to thank all you who donated, the participants in our competition and specially to Steve who really walked the extra mile to make this happen. The van is a 2012 Mercedes Sprinter 4x4 and in very good condition, so it will be a valuable tool in bringing home many missing soldiers.

​In  December 1944 a German Fockewulf fighter plane shot down a Red Army PE-2 Bomber. The pilot bailed out and evaded capture for two days before he was caught and placed in captivity. His plane and crew members went down and smashed into the ground. ​
  We headed out into a forest to a waterfilled crater where this exact bomber had crashed. We hoped to find something that could ID the plane and ofcourse the missing crew. Metal parts poked out from the crater and as the pump removed water more of it became visible. A digger was brought up and began removing the waterfilled soil and take out heavier plane parts.
 I turned on my Fisher F5 detector and made a sweep across the forest floor. It gave off a great signal and I decided to dig my first piece of aircraft metal of the day. Under the moss was no aircraft parts though, but I found a whole bunch of S-Mine detonators. Not long after a S-Mine was found in the crater, and Viktors had found a whole minefield a bit into the forest. All the other signals I dug the rest of the day was from the plane though. Twisted parts in all sizes hundred of meters in any direction from the crater, so the bomber must have hit the ground with great force.
After a while a huge pile of parts had been pulled from the crashsite and parts were scrubbed and cleaned in search of a serial number. Suddenly a twisted pistol came out from the mud, and not long after human bones, parts of parachute and uniform, but in small bits. The hole became deeper and a heavy smell of fuel hung over the pit. Late in the afternoon a part was found and it had a hand stencilled number that matched with the plane. The work was done and the missing crew will finally get a named grave on a Russian War Cemetery.
The other digger team was still working on uncovering the Red Army massgrave and  almost 40 soldiers had been recovered from there so far.
In the evening we had dinner and celebrated Duksies 50th birthday with cake and drinks and it was once again time for some laughs, sauna, fishing and a few beers.

Ammo from the machineguns.

Fresh and rested diggers gathered to breakfast and coffee early Saturday morning. The first mission today was a stop at the Red Army War Cemetery in Priekule. Here we held a ceremony and a handover of the remains of a Red Army soldier to representants from the Russian Federation. The soldier had been found in Kurland and via DNA testing his family in Siberia can have him brought home.
We drove to the site of the Red Army massgrave where the dig continued, but since the space was limited part of the team took off to the frontlines to search. We searched a plowed field and it was full of shrapnel and Red Army mortar tail fins. A few 8cm shell casings was dug out and some tractor track links. 
The sun was boiling so after a while we strolled back to the road and found some shade under some trees and enjoyed a lunch. 
After trying the luck out on the fields one more time we went to a green spot near the road. Here was a old water tower and it was awesome to cool down under the dripping cold water. In the late afternoon Steve had found several 7.5 cm casings fired by a PzIV or a StuG. Nearby some Nebelwerfer rocket parts were dug out.
​On the massgrave site another 20 soldiers had been recovered.

Usually the Sunday morning of the expedition is the time for Goodbyes, but not this time, but Kristine we had to say goodbye to as we would leave for Riga and some were driving home later. We had a full day ahead of us and before 10 we put our things in the vans. Although we had our digger clothes we tried to clean up a bit and shine our shoes, because we were going to church. I was one of the lucky ones that got to ride in the new van, and wow, what a car! We were heading to the Lestene Church and the War Cemetery there. Steve Newman made a write up about this and I thought it was so well explained that I ll share his words here:
" The first stop today was Lestene, this on the eastern side of the Kurland pocket where German troops completely surrounded hung on from autumn 1944 until the end of the war. This sector was largely held by Latvian troops fighting for Germany, many were in one of the waffen SS Latvian volunteer units. Of course the words ‘SS units’ will cause a few shivers and rightly so but Latvian history need to be understood more to understand their reasons for fighting.Firstly in 1940 after the Soviets had taken Latvia on their way to dividing Poland in unison with the Germans ‘the year of blood’ started. Latvians were removed from any position of importance and sent to Siberia or executed, others fled west towards Germany, whole families were deported. Latvian independence that had been gard fought for and only in existence less than 20 years was crushed. Thus when the Germans arrived in 1941 they were seen by many as liberators from communism. However they then set about any communists in high positions and any other person or people such as Jews who were executed or sent to the Riga ghetto or death camps. For Latvians they had new masters but no independence still but their blood flowed still.
As the war went against Germany they recruited volunteer units from around Europe to fight communism. Latvia provided a number of battalions with the promise of independence once communism was defeated. Ordinary guys had the choice of labour camp or join the ‘legion’ as it was known. This meant brother could and indeed would be fighting each other as Soviet forces also had Latvian divisions and who were also promised independence once the fascists were beaten. It was not a good time to be born a young Latvian male.
At Lestene stood a church where the Latvian legion stood their ground... they held on to it until March 1945, it became a symbol of resistance. Following the end of the war the ruins were used to store grain and then in 1992 when independence was finally granted it was chosen as the place for the national war cemetery. The church was restored inside but the outside left showing the scars it had suffered.
Last year on separate occasions legionnaires were found, 5 in total. All were identified and today was their reinterring service. First flowers were attached to the caskets and individual crosses made out for them. Then diggers who had been part of the team carried them to the freshly dug graves. Each was placed in and his name read. Then a few words were spoken and hand fulls of mud thrown over them as us traditional here. They were then covered over by diggers, pine leaves placed over them and oak wreaths hung on their crosses. Once the ground has settled permanent markers will be added.
The memorial did have 1312 burials, now 1317, a further 18,000 missing are recorded but the number is believed to be double this but records are lost. The cemetery is well maintained and visited frequently. The photos speak better perhaps and I hope show what we do and why as being with their comrades in such a place must surely be more dignified than left forgotten in a swamp...  "  Steve Newman

After the funeral and a short lunch we drove to an apple garden a few kilometres away where German and Latvian troops had fought in trenches. Next to the garden was a Red Army cemetery that could need some cleaning and fixing up.
Earlier this year a German soldier had been found in a trench in the orchard and it was a moment frozen in time. He had been found in full gear with both a rifle and a Panzerfaust in his hands. From damages to him and the equipment it was obvious he had been killed by a blast from behind. He had his ID tag and will get a named grave. Now we were going to see if more soldiers could be laying in the trenches waiting to be found. As the metal detectors was turned on  finds started coming out of the ground. Coins, buttons, a half ID tag, a STG 44 magazine and a Panzerfaust tube. The digger had begun opening a trenchline and from there a Mg ammo box with some belts of ammo saw daylight once again, some live ordnance, and then a helmet was dug out in the end of the opened trench. There could be a fallen soldier nearby and just minutes later bones was discovered. It wasn`t much metal with the soldier but Regina and Vilma who was exhuming him used the pinpointers and located all metal there was, like buttons and his wristwatch. By his hip they found his ID tag, so he might have had it in his pocket rather than around his neck. The tag was read and it was a bit amazing, it ID the soldier as Latvian SS, and the tag was complete so he is no longer a MIA and will be buried next to the soldiers we had buried hours before.
People had flights a bit later so the trenchline was filled back when the soldier remains had been exhumed and we said goodbye to most of the latvian team and drove into Riga. 
On the massgrave site in Kurland the work continued as it is believed to be 80 or more soldiers there.
​

Back in Riga I had a quick and refreshing shower and some fresh clothes and I met up with the remaining guys at the Rock Cafe. Here we had dinner and a handfull of beer and we ended the evening at the Armoury Bar. Next morning most of the guys left for their flights and only me and Anders was left. We visited the War Museum and saw the new WW1 exhibition. It was very well made, it even had won a prize. Definately worth a visit! Around lunchtime Anders had left for home and I had until tuesday morning before my travel home began. I met with Victoria and Andris and we visited a friend who has a little shop with ww2 stuff. I went early to bed and next morning I met with Talis and we went to the farm to pick up my car.
The travel home went smooth and uneventfull and I was soon back home to Girlfriend and kitties. I was tired after a long one and half week and next morning I filled the newly cleaned livingroom floors with rust and sand to Girlfriends amusement.

Hopefully it won`t be long until I see my favorite tribe of diggers again, and until then I ll do my best to stay dirty and to Keep Smiling.

Legenda Prize draw 2017
Win a once in a lifetime trip to visit Latvia in 2018 to participate and help Legenda on one of their expeditions to the Battlefields of Kurland.
The lucky winner will be met at Riga airport by Legenda members and taken to their hotel in the beautiful old town of Riga, then from there you will travel to the battlefields of Kurland to help Legenda in the continuing search for the missing soldiers of WW2.
Prize details are :

1st Prize :
1 person to travel to Latvia to participate on a Legenda recovery dig in 2018 (dates to be confirmed).
The trip includes :
•£100 towards your flights.
•Accommodation in Riga (room only).
•Accommodation during the expedition. (including breakfast and dinner).
•Fully supervised expedition.
•Duration of trip will be approximately 7 days in May/June 2018.
•All costs including,digger hire,fuel,and equipment needed are all included.
•Transfers and transport are all included.
•Personally signed copy of the  book “Legenda kurland Diggers” by Yngve Sjødin (Inka).

Second prize:
Personally signed copy of the book “Legenda kurland Diggers” by Yngve Sjødin (Inka).

Third prize :
A relic helmet found on the battlefield of kurland. (Photo below)


Note:
All other expenses not mentioned above including extra meals drinks ect will be funded by the winner.
All safety details and procedures you will have to follow will be explained to you once you arrive in Latvia.
The prize is non-transferable and no cash equivalent is available.
The winner will have to sign a legenda disclaimer in order to participate.
The winner will have to organise there own travel insurance.

The draw will take place on December 16th 2017 and the winner will be chosen randomly by a member of legenda and the winners will be notified by email.
Specific trip details will be emailed to the winner in due course.

Ticket sales close at 6pm on December 14th December.
This draw is open to anyone over 18* from any county or territory.
*No tickets can be sold to,on behalf of,or for a person under the age of 18 years of age.

Ticket sales:
PayPal Payment to : legenda.diggers@hotmail.com
Tickets £20 each.
Please write your email address and name plus Legenda Raffle 2017 in the PayPal note/message box.
You will receive a confirmation email once payment has been received.
For full terms and conditions please email us.
This competition is sponsored by :
Legenda Military Archaeology.
Radi Guest house : http://www.radi.lv/

For more in information on Legenda :
Web :https://kurlandlegends.wordpress.com/
Facebook : https://m.facebook.com/Military-archeology-Legenda-Latvia-224779244335847/
Good luck and we look forward to meeting the lucky winner!
Legenda Team

This year the winter wouldn`t loose its cold grip on Mother Nature until quite late. Here in the Northern Norway the valley was filled with snow and frost until late May when Spring finally arrived embracing us with sun and warmth. It wasn`t a moment too late because Diggers from around the western hemisphere was eager to get over to Latvia to help search for the fallen soldiers of WW1 and WW2. 
In the last weeks before the trip I had to do some serious repairs to my old car and with just two days to spare it was finally ready for a roadtrip. I built a mountain of food for my cats and instructed my brother to check up on them before I plotted the route into the GPS and sped off towards the Baltic states one early Sunday morning. Next morning I found the ferry in Helsinki and a few hours later I could park the car at the Legenda HQ and was welcomed by our Boss, Talis Esmits. We spent a couple of hours chatting and drinking coffee before he dropped me off at Duksi who took me into Rigas beautiful Old Town. After a quick shower at the hotel I strolled towards a bar and soon found some of the other diggers. We spent the next days eating good food, drinking some beer and enjoying the sights of the city. Soon we were all gathered except a few who couldn`t make it for different reasons, and Tuesday evening we raised a glass for them and went to sleep relatively early coz next morning it would all begin.

Very early Wednesday morning we met up outside the hotel and walked a few hundred meters to the Riflemen Monument where the Latvian crew came to pick us up. We drove straight to Kurland and the Radi resort with our luggage and for picking up some other diggers. It was amazing seeing all the guys and girls again, and we had got a new Digger with us, Erin, an artist from USA.
One of the Latvian diggers, Vlad, had earlier discovered what could be a large massgrave in the forest on the Machinegun Hill outside Riga and we headed there to investigate it further. The WW1 battles around this hill had been heavy with huge casualties on both sides so it was a good chance we would find fallen and lost soldiers between all the battle discards and old trenchlines. Vlad showed us the spot he had found a fallen soldier and Talis ordered the forest floor cleaned and test pits opened. The sandy soil is easier to dig than clay, but we soon got warm and sweaty and after an hour or so the first bones poked out from the sand. 

We carefully uncovered the soldiers remains, and as the sand around them was removed we found items that showed they were Latvian Riflemen. We could also see on several of them how they had been struck by bullets and shrapnel, and some was very damaged from detonations. On one of the soldiers we found a numbered medal so there is a chance he can be identified. More and more soldiers were uncovered as the day went on, and all exhumed in the same carefull manner. News teams arrived to make interviews and film our work, and Duksi and our own photographers went around filming and documenting it all. It was nice and sunny and while some was digging,some rested or went around in the surrounding forest with their detectors and searching rods.

In the afternoon all the soldiers in the grave had been exhumed and we began filling back the pit. We moved a kilometer into the forest to a hill covered in trenchlines where several other fallen soldiers were found and exhumed and in total 37 soldiers could be brought back for a final resting place,not being lost in the wilderness anymore, forgotten and to prehaps be looted by black diggers.

It was late in the evening when we returned to the resort and got fed by Kristine, but we managed to find time for some chats and a few beers before finding our sleeping quarters. The plan for the next two days was to investigate some frontline positions in the Kurland forests and early thursday morning we headed out with no less than two JCBs, one large and one small. As the machine began opening up a deep trenchline I snuk off for a stroll in the forest with my detector. I had signals everywhere I swept the Fisher and I tried to dig most of them. It was all shrapnel, grenades of every caliber, casings from rifles and machinepistols and I saw several ruins of old farms destroyed during the battles that raged here. When I made it back to the JCB they had found a soldier but he was all in pieces from the explosion that must have killed him.

The day went on with not much finds but battle discards, we had a base camp where we returned from our strolls with the detectors for rest and food and some chatting before returning to the search. I think all the diggers hoped that the next signal they dug would be a lost soldier but we had little luck. In the evening when we met up by the cars only two soldiers had been found, and none of them had anything to identify them but still ,they are not lost anymore and will have a final resting place on the War Grave Cemetery. 
In the evening at Radi we had a good time together with laughs and good food and some well deserved rest.

Every morning I was up early and found George circling the coffee pot and together we enjoyed the silent morning before breakfast and the hordes of tired diggers, moments to last a lifetime. It was day three and as soon as our stomachs had been filled Talis ordered us into the vans and out to the frontlines. This day was very hot and the area was a mix of fields, swamps and forests. We had sent home the big JCB and used only the little one to help us open up a trenchline. The soil here was hard clay and difficult to dig. Some diggers searched the opened trench while others spread out in different directions. I spent the morning in the shady forest and everytime I crossed into a open field and the thundering sun it was like walking into a wall of heat, just eating the energy away. The signals given by the detector prooved heavy fighting had taken place here and it had obviously been a tank battle here as I think every one of the diggers found parts and shrapnel from blown up tanks. Mindaugas came out from the forest with bits of barrels from two different panzers, while others found tank tracks, sprocket wheels and other parts.
The work in the trench was successfull as at least 3 soldiers were found, one of them had a numbered Red Army award on him together with a vallet with remains of paper money and a soldiers book. A smaller group of diggers had went to another section of this frontline and found a German soldier with several big pieces of shrapnel stuck in his bones. So all in all it was a hard but successfull day when the evening finally arrived.
Back at the resort Kristine had prepared the barbeque for us and we had a very nice time together even though the mosquitoes was feating on us.

Again it was a tired and happy gang of diggers that filled the dining room at lovely Kristines resort for another exellent dinner, and after dinner we celebrated birthdays of a couple of the diggers with coffee and a yummy cake. We were fewer diggers now as Hans,Maris and Dainis had to leave home to their families for different reasons, but they were still with us in spirit,just as the other diggers that hadn`t made it to this expedition.
Saturday morning I woke up early as I often do, and being out on these expeditions makes my dreams very strange, so I was happy when I found George waiting for coffee, and we sat in silence looking at the mist dry up in the morning sun. Today was a big day, the reburials of the Red Army soldiers we exhumed last spring expedition. These events are very emotional and rewarding. Usually the reburials are financed by the Russian government, but for some reason they wouldn`t this time,so Legenda had to take the cost, ofcourse it pains the economy of a volunteer group like this but it is our mission to bring the soldiers home so we did it with a smile. 
A group of diggers went out to the cemetery earlier to prepare the grave and coffins and when the rest of us arrived we were met by a lot of people. Journalists, embassy workers, relatives of the fallen and others who wanted to take part in it. Regina read out all the names of the soldiers before the priest held his part of the ceremony and then Legenda carried the coffins into the grave before we covered them with the soil. Then pine branches and flowers were placed on the graves. It is impossible to describe how this feels when it is you who have found and exhumed the soldiers for then to bury them, it has to be excperienced. It is a full circle and one is part of the history and these families forever. Rest in Peace for all these young men that fell in combat so many years ago.
​

After the ceremony there was still lots left of the day, and we had a digger still, so we made a short drive to a forest where it was some old frontline and supposedly some fallen soldiers. The forest was thick and the old road leading into it overgrown and full of water so we had to build a road so the digger could make its way in there, real heavy work. We had to move some live ammo out of the way and the machine went to work, but after a while it became clear that there were no soldiers to be found where we had believed them to be. But we spent the day here searching. Nothing much was found other than the usual bits, some rusted old weapons, helmets and tons of live ammo. Anders went alone into the forest and when he stepped on a branch a wild boar jumped up 5 meter in front of him, they stared at eachother for a moment, Anders took a step back and fell, making enough noise that the boar ran away in the other direction, lucky for him.

Early in the afternoon we called it quits and went back to the resort. It was the last evening so the sauna was fired up and we had a great party together. Kristines dad brought out the speed boat and we all got a ride around the lake, which was great fun. The embers of the barbeque and the party died out late that night.
Next morning was the time for wet eyes, lumpy throats and the see-you-next-times. Always a sad day. We jumped into the vans with our belongings and on the way to Riga we made a stop at the German Cemetery in Saldus to pay our respects. We had a few hours together in the Old Town before people left for their flights and the group grew smaller until we were just a couple left. I hope it wont be long till we all meet up again my friends.
​

On Monday morning Erin left back to USA and only me and Richard was left in Riga, and we spent time with Andris and Victoria and met Nathalia for lunch. In the evening me, Andris and the Duksies went to the book launch of Vince Hunts book the "Blood in the Forest" , a very interesting book about the Kurland battles, strongly reccomended.

It had been a fantastic expedition and I was exhausted, so I went early to bed after dinner, and on Tuesday morning I made my way back to the HQ where Talis was waiting for me. He helped fill my car with rusted treasures and while we were doing that some representants from Volksbund came to begin analyzing the remains of soldiers we had recovered, which was very interesting, but I had a long drive ahead so after a few coffees I got a bear hug from the boss and was on the road towards the Polar Circle,which had to be close to Valhalla ment one of the Volksbund guys. The trip back was tiring but it went without a glitch and some 24 hours later I was back home to my cats who obviously had missed me alot coz they are still climbing me and wont leave my side.
I want to thank all you guys who made the expedition possible, all the Legenda guys,the other Latvian search groups , the Lithuanian team and the Russian searchteam we had company from. I hope to see you all again very soon.
​Until next time, Keep Smiling,stay dirty, and do good things.

                                                                                              Acta - Non Verba

Links to the TV reports:
First one begins at 19:09
tvplay.skaties.lv/parraides/tv3-zinas/849005?autostart=true

Second one begins at 18:56
ltv.lsm.lv/lv/raksts/14.06.2017-segodnja-vecherom.id99898/

Link to news article by Angela Fomina:
www.nashapobeda.lv/3766.html

Friday 4th November reburial for the WW1 soldiers found this autumn was held near Kekeva outside Riga in Latvia. 
These soldiers was recoverd thanks to the soldier recovery groups Legenda, Patriots, Ordensis and Brālība who worked together to exhume them all. 
These soldiers belonging to 7th regiment of the Latvian Riflemen and the Imperial Russian 6th Army Corps,Siberian, died while defending Riga against advancing Imperial German troops in 1916. Of the 78 it was possible to find the names of 25, four of them from the Latvian regiment. 
The soldiers were buried with full military honors.

Arrows 7th Bauskogo Regiment of the Latvian Shooters:
1. Witte, karlis yuryevich
2. Zalʹkalns Karlis,
3. Rudzis Janis,
4. Vitols;
The Soldiers of the 6TH Army Corps: Siberian
5. Sapper Matveyev, Alexander.
6. Bombardier Gushchin Vasily,
7. Junior an artilleryman beredikhin Vladimir,
8. Corpsman Molokov Nikita,
Arrows -
9. Kuzmich Alexander,
10. Pabidze Luca,
11. Ledzik Joseph,
12. Khlebnikov Andrei,
13. Safarganov Husan,
14. Guba Ivan Ivanovich,
15. Alexander Belov,
16. Akinfiyevich Smirnov,
17. Morozov, Alexander.
18. Lekantsev Stepan,
19. Tarachev Phillip,
20. Sukhov Ivan (State Military-Historical Archive of Russia, the d. 391, op. 1, 1.1760, p. 1);
The Gunners (killed in action 6 July 1916)
21. Kalutskiy Mikhail,
22. Terelygin Egor
23. Abramenko Vasily,
24. Guzenko Nicephorus,
25. Kharitonenko Cyril (State Military-Historical Archive of Russia, the d. 391, op. 1, 1.11686, p. 1).

R.I.P.

Already in late August many diggers from the international team had become restless and tired of family life and needed to get out in the forests again, so a plan began to form. The Latvian team had been researching a site for a while and it was decided we would go there to exhume the soldiers. The date was set for mid October and it was a long wait but last Thursday the time had come.
I flew out from Northern Norway early on the morning and before lunch I stepped out of Riga Airport and jumped into a Taxi. About half way into the city the driver began texting his phone at the same time as he turned onto the main road and BLAM!! From behind a large trailer smashed into the side of the taxi almost throwing is up on the sidewalk. The road was covered in car parts and broken glass. Luckily the driver of the trailer had been more aware and didn`t hit us straight on, then it would have been the end of my expeditions. We was not injured, I only had some pain in my knee,wrist,elbow and ribs so I got the diver to call me a new cab and a few minutes later I was checking in to the hotel and met up with Jon and a new guy joining us,Gary from the UK. A bit later Victoria and Natalia arrived and also Steve, Anton and even Kristina from Radi was in the city and joined up.
Later on the evening Kim and Martins came and also Victors and Roberts. We spent the evening on Rock Cafes karaoke bar, drinking,eating and playing pool until we wised up and found our hotel rooms.
Early next morning I woke up feeling fine and ready to dig and rushed down to the reception to find out who had won the hangover competition. This time I was so happy to not win, it was Anton who was the lucky one and he really looked like he was suffering.
We went to the pick up point and met up with the Latvians and drove towards a forested area just outside Riga. 

On one side of the road was some fields and a small forest where it had been a Russian WW1 field hospital and on the other side a forest where it should be field-and massgraves. Because of it being a somewhat protected area we could not use any heavy machinery so these graves had to be dug with the help of shovels and muscles. We brought shovels, probes and everything we needed from the cars and set up a table and a big barbeque as diggers need food. More diggers arrived and soon the site was busy. With the probes and some test pits the first graves was located and we began working. After a while several large holes had been dug and the first signs of soldiers began to show. As soon as the tips of the soldiers boots poked through the sand the work slowed down as great care must be taken and the remains is cleaned from the sand by the help of trowels and brushes. By lunchtime several of the lost soldiers had been uncovered and could be lifted out into bonetrays and bodybags. Most of them had remains of their greatcoats and a few still had their caps on. With the detectors and pinpointers any metal items on and around the soldiers was located and placed into small plastic bags and put in the bodybags together with the soldier remains.
 Roberts was in charge of the BBQ and coffee making so he too had a busy day as the diggers were gathering around him when they grew hungry and thirsty.
The day went on like this and more and more soldiers came out from the ground and in the evening we had recovered 33.
When the sun set we called it a day and the international guys was dropped off by a local hotel in Kekava where we were staying for the weekend. After a half cooked dinner at the local pizza place we all went to sleep as we had had a long day.

Saturday morning we had a nice breakfast at the hotel and Duksi and Talis came to pick us up around 0830. Today Talis had called in several other Latvian digger groups to help us as we had no idea how many graves it could be at the site and as the morning went on more and more cars parked by the road and before lunchtime the forest was a busy place. We continued the work together with the same great care as the day before. The graves was around 1,5 -2 meters deep, and since the soil was fine sand it was always the risk a wall would collapse. This happened in one of the pits where Steve, Gary and Jon was working. A soldier was laying under a large tree with lots of thick roots so Steve had sort of tunelled towards the soldier when the whole thing collapsed on him, luckily he was dragged out immediately unharmed just full of sand. 
At lunch we were served hot soup which was delicious and when all the diggers was full and fresh after the rest the work continued.
Soldiers were recovered, holes filled back and new ones opened and when one digger was tired another one took his place and everyone seemed to help eachother as best they could. If someone didn`t find something to do Talis always had new things for them to do, gather firewood, pick up garbage or bring up new bodybags and bonetrays.
Towards dinnertime we were called to gather around the table, two of the diggers, Gatis and Ilgonis was awarded the badge for finding lost soldiers, and they were both plastered with big smiles as a celebratory toast for them went around the group.
At one point when it had been decided to only dig one more row of graves as time wouldn`t allow much more to be done some of us international guys found our detectors to do a little search in the surrounding area.  We found lots of Arisaka and Mosin ammo and some live artillery shells. Me and Kim went to search the field hospital but didn`t have much luck. Kim found a strange rifle casing which we thought could be some kind of hunter ammo but on closer inspection it turned out to be two casings modified into a pencil, a very nice little find.
In the evening 32 soldiers had been exhumed and all the pits filled back. From archives we had names for 20 of the soldiers and some more searching will be done on the site at a later time.
Back in Kekeva we were not all that eager for uncooked pizza so we found the other restaurant a few km away from the hotel.  It was a very cozy little place with some great food and very friendly atmosphere and we had a fantastic evening together and didn`t leave before it was time for them to close up a bit before midnight.

Early Sunday morning we were ready for another day in the forests. Today we drove to a place called "Machinegun Hill" where christmas 1916 saw fierce battles between the Russians and the Germans. Seeing the idyllic forest with soft rolling hills covered in trenches,bunkers and shell craters was a bit surreal. Some diggers had arrived before us and was already busy recovering a few soldiers they had found in a trench. We spread out in all directions sweeping the detectors in front of us. I took directions towards a nearby hill and dug every signal I got, and it beeped everywhere. I found shrapnel, lots of shrapnel, japanese,russian and german rifle ammo and even a few ww1 Brennzunders from handgrenades and a few live 77mm German artillery shells. Also shrapnel balls were found everywhere as they give off a good signal.
When we gathered for lunch some cakes were placed between us and we had a small celebration of Roberts birthday, and I ll tell you it is one of the best cakes I have ever had (sorry Mom,but they were amazing).
​One of the diggers had a long iron signal and began digging it and soon a ww1 Mauser saw daylight again, a superb find.
Steve found a piece of a German EKM and I think most of the guys found mostly shrapnel and shells,nothing spectacular was found. Late on the afternoon a trenchline was dug and suddenly bones came out from it. Several lost soldiers were being exhumed and it looked like they had all died from a detonation and it was found rests of a exploded handgrenade between them. Before we left 9 soldiers had been recovered on the hill.
​ Steve had a flight to catch in the evening so when the sun was dipping behind the treeline we collected our equipment and had to say goodbye to eachother. Gary,Kim,Jon and Anton went to the hotel in Kekeva, Steve to the airport and I was dropped off in Riga where I had a great dinner, a long shower and met up with Andris for a few beers before the day ended a few hours past midnight.
Monday morning I had to say farewell to Lovely Riga and went to the airport where I met with Anton,Jon and Gary who had flights at the same time as me. Kim took a late flight so he had some hours to kill in Riga which he spent on sightseeing.
I arrived home to a cold and frozen Nordland and immediately sunk into a light post-expedition depression but meeting my happy cats again sorted that.
I want to give a big thanks to our bossand hero Talis and the rest of the latvian crew for taking us internationals on this great expedition, and a big thanks to the other digger groups that helped us recover the ww1 graves.

​Until next time, stay happy and do someting good:)

Slideshow below: