In Memory of Army Second Lieutenant
Roy D. Beukelman
Corsica, South Dakota
Douglas County
March 20, 1919 --September 2, 1945
Missing in Action at Amsterdam, Holland
Roy D. Beukleman was born March 20, 1919 on a farm southwest of Harrison, South Dakota as the youngest of James and Anna Beukelman’s six sons. He graduated from Corsica High School in 1936 and attended college two years at Southern State Normal School in Springfield, South Dakota. He was engaged in teaching school until drafted into the army on August 6, 1941.
In January 1942 he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps and graduated as navigator on November 13, 1943. In February he left for overseas duty in England. His title enabled him to be on planes that made surveillance trips from England into Germany. On March 13, 1944, the plane Roy was working in collided with another American plane over the sea of Beullakkerwijde, near the city of Volenhoven in the Netherlands. Here is where Roy D. Beukleman was pronounced “missing in action.” Roy was officially reported dead by the War Department on September 2, 1945.
After the war was over, two divers received permission from the militaries of the Netherlands and the United States to retrieve as much as possible of the American planes that had gone down on that day. That lake was fifteen feet deep with four feet of mud under the water. Despite the conditions they were able to bring up the planes’ numbers and pieces that are now preserved in a museum. One of the most interesting things retrieved from the wreckage was a long rod. The men were required to hang their rings on this rod before a strike. Roy’s ring was discovered and sent home to his mother. Now the ring is in the hands of Roy A. Beukelman, Roy’s nephew who lives in Storm Lake, Iowa.
Roy will always be remembered for dedicating his life to his country.
This entry was respectfully submitted by Eliot Lucas and Jessie Meyerink, seniors at Platte High School, Platte South Dakota, on May 15, 2002. Mrs. Cora Beukelman, Corsica, South Dakota, sister-in-law of Second Lieutenant Roy D. Beukelman provided information.
