Truth About Glenn Miller's Death

Truth About Glenn Miller's Death

Isn't it about time that somebody revealed the truth surrounding the death of Glenn Miller in December 1944? The myth of his demise over the English Channel has been around too long, and questioned too many times for it to continue.

At the beginning of that fateful month in the winter of 1944 Glenn Miller was ordered to meet with General Eisenhower at his Paris, France HQ. The reason for this summons was kept a closely guarded secret but it is likely that it related to the Battle of the Bulge fought in northern Europe between 16th December 1944 and 28th January 1945. As well as his orchestra's immense morale building contribution to the war effort, Glenn Miller had been broadcasting propaganda messages to Germany, in the German language, extolling its citizens to stop fighting and help bring the war to a speedy conclusion.

By the end of 1944 Germany was quite clearly losing the war, and the Battle of the Bulge was seen by the allies as the final push towards Germany's ultimate defeat. It would therefore have been quite reasonable for Eisenhower to ask Glenn Miller to broadcast again in an attempt to reduce the length of the campaign and so save hundreds, if not thousands of allied lives. Unfortunately this series of broadcasts never happened and British researchers into the death of Glenn Miller have come up with a more plausible theory to explain the bandleader's sudden disappearance.

During December 1944 the German Army, under the command of Waffen-SS commando Otto Skorzeny, instigated Operation Greif (Grab) which used specially-trained German soldiers in captured Allied uniforms and vehicles to stir up panic and confusion behind allied lines. In addition it was thought that one of these units had been ordered to kidnap or kill General Eisenhower at his Paris headquarters. The conjecture is that such a unit almost succeeded in their mission and that Glenn Miller received serious head injuries during the ensuing conflict.

General Eisenhower was quickly spirited away in an armoured vehicle which became his standard mode of transport from that time on, whilst Glenn Miller was flown home to the Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio for emergency medical treatment. It is assumed that he never recovered and was buried secretly in their military cemetery.

The research of the British enthusiasts indicates that Glenn Miller's wife Helen never believed that Glenn Miller died in the English Channel, and she is reported to have spent three years bombarding the authorities with letters demanding the truth of his death. But mysteriously, after three years and a visit from the military it is said that she stopped writing and moved her family to California. Could it be that the authorities did indeed tell her the truth and gave up her husband's remains for re-burial in the newly purchased family plot on the west coast in return for total secrecy?

Unless the veil that surrounds Glenn Miller's death is lifted we shall probably never know. But why should that veil even exist nearly sixty years after the event? And why should the researchers, mostly amateur enthusiasts with a passion for Glenn Miller's music, be concerned about what may happen to them if they dare to peep through?

By all accounts Glenn Miller was a hero, an American patriot who gave up a lucrative musical career to serve his country and subsequently paid the ultimate price. Perhaps revealing the truth of his death could dent Eisenhower's reputation a little if it was discovered for example that security in the 1944 Paris HQ was not all that it could have been. But surely, given Eisenhower's subsequent exemplary record, is this not a small price to pay to put the record straight for a man whose music and reputation have been the inspiration of generations for the past seventy years?



	Isn't it about time that somebody revealed the truth surrounding the death of Glenn Miller in December 1944? The myth of his demise over the English Channel has been around too long, and questioned too many times for it to continue. At the beginning of that fateful month in the winter of 1944 Glenn Miller was ordered to meet with General Eisenhower at his Paris, France HQ. The reason for this summons was kept a closely guarded secret but it is likely that it related to the Battle of the Bulge fought in northern Europe between 16th December 1944 and 28th January 1945. As well as his orchestra's immense morale building contribution to the war effort, Glenn Miller had been broadcasting propaganda messages to Germany, in the German language, extolling its citizens to stop fighting and help bring the war to a speedy conclusion. By the end of 1944 Germany was quite clearly losing the war, and the Battle of the Bulge was seen by the allies as the final push towards Germany's ultimate defeat. It would therefore have been quite reasonable for Eisenhower to ask Glenn Miller to broadcast again in an attempt to reduce the length of the campaign and so save hundreds, if not thousands of allied lives. Unfortunately this series of broadcasts never happened and British researchers into the death of Glenn Miller have come up with a more plausible theory to explain the bandleader's sudden disappearance. During December 1944 the German Army, under the command of Waffen-SS commando Otto Skorzeny, instigated Operation Greif (Grab) which used specially-trained German soldiers in captured Allied uniforms and vehicles to stir up panic and confusion behind allied lines. In addition it was thought that one of these units had been ordered to kidnap or kill General Eisenhower at his Paris headquarters. The conjecture is that such a unit almost succeeded in their mission and that Glenn Miller received serious head injuries during the ensuing conflict. General Eisenhower was quickly spirited away in an armoured vehicle which became his standard mode of transport from that time on, whilst Glenn Miller was flown home to the Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio for emergency medical treatment. It is assumed that he never recovered and was buried secretly in their military cemetery. The research of the British enthusiasts indicates that Glenn Miller's wife Helen never believed that Glenn Miller died in the English Channel, and she is reported to have spent three years bombarding the authorities with letters demanding the truth of his death. But mysteriously, after three years and a visit from the military it is said that she stopped writing and moved her family to California. Could it be that the authorities did indeed tell her the truth and gave up her husband's remains for re-burial in the newly purchased family plot on the west coast in return for total secrecy? Unless the veil that surrounds Glenn Miller's death is lifted we shall probably never know. But why should that veil even exist nearly sixty years after the event? And why should the researchers, mostly amateur enthusiasts with a passion for Glenn Miller's music, be concerned about what may happen to them if they dare to peep through? By all accounts Glenn Miller was a hero, an American patriot who gave up a lucrative musical career to serve his country and subsequently paid the ultimate price. Perhaps revealing the truth of his death could dent Eisenhower's reputation a little if it was discovered for example that security in the 1944 Paris HQ was not all that it could have been. But surely, given Eisenhower's subsequent exemplary record, is this not a small price to pay to put the record straight for a man whose music and reputation have been the inspiration of generations for the past seventy years?