Monday, September 26, 2005

Family's 60-year quest for closure ends in Austria

By CHRISTINE GIRARDIN | News-Journal Staff Writer

DELAND — Susan Ryan still has the military-issued Bible and airman's scarf that once belonged to an uncle she never had a chance to meet.

John "Newton" Magness, Ryan's uncle and her father's beloved older brother, died in 1945 along with 19 other U.S. servicemen when two B-24s collided over Austria near the German border.

It took the military five years to bring home the body of Newton Magness, and 60 years for Don Magness, Ryan's father, to put his brother's death behind him. He was recently given the gift of closure by a group of strangers, Austrians who helped Don Magness find the site of the crash, then placed a memorial nearby to commemorate the sacrifices of those 19 young men.

Don Magness and his son-in-law, Tim Ryan, were in Kossen, Austria, for the monument's unveiling earlier this month. Magness, from Largo, and Ryan, from DeLand, were expecting a quiet three-day trip, including a walk to the crash site, and maybe a small presentation. Neither expected a full ceremony featuring two area mayors, an honor guard of Austrians who once served in the German Army and dozens of onlookers, said Tim Ryan.

Featuring a wreath-like circle of steel that likely came from one of the top gun turrets, the memorial held special meaning for Don Magness because his brother was a top gunner.

"When they had me pull the cover off that memorial it got to me pretty severely," said Magness.

Throughout his life, Magness searched for more information about his brother's death and where the crash occurred, but he didn't make serious progress until about three years ago. Then, he connected over the Internet with Roland Domanig, an Austrian who in his spare time helps people find crash sites.

Domanig finally made it to the site about a year ago, discovering a wooded glen still littered with old aircraft pieces. Tim Ryan and Magness at first talked lightly about traveling to Austria to visit the site, but plans quickly became more formal, said Ryan.

“It’s just a quest for finding out every possible thing I could about the accident and my brother’s death,” said Magness. “I felt that by going to the site that it would help me understand and bring maybe a little closure. It had been 60 years, but still.”

Newton Magness was declared missing in action on March 2, 1945, and declared killed in action on March 3, 1946. Family members, however, dared to hope he was still alive and held in a European prison camp.

“This is a story we’d all grown up with,” said Susan Ryan.

Those hopes were crushed in 1949 when the military found the crash site and recovered bodies. Newton Magness was one of four who couldn’t be identified individually. They were buried together in a military cemetery in New York, said Susan Ryan.

Don Magness said he idolized his older brother.

“He took good care of me when I was quite young.”

Did You Know?

As a nation, Austria did not participate in World War II, because the country ceased to exist as an independent entity following the German takeover — known as the Anschluss — in 1938.

In reality, about 800,000 Austrians were drafted into the German army and integrated into German units. Another 150,000 Austrians served in the Waffen SS, an elite Nazi military unit.

In contrast to the view of the German invasion presented in the musical “Sound of Music,” most Austrians favored the Anschluss and supported Germany in the early years of the war.

Compiled by News Researcher Peggy Ellis. SOURCE: U.S. Library of Congress

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