A man in the Netherlands has discovered a cave carving that possibly was done by a Pittsburgher during World War II and now he is looking for the man’s decedents.
Walther Odekerken of Valkenburg tells KDKA Radio he discovered the carving a few weeks ago while giving guided tours of a cave he has rented since 2001.
The carving says “Gimpy Joe” with an arrow pointing down to the name “Wm. Thompson “and says “Pgh, Pa.” and is dated 9-17-44.
Odekerken hopes that someone in the Pittsburgh area will recognize the name and contact him.
He says he’d like to put a photo of “Gimpy Joe” near the carving to recognize him while he gives tours.
A post shared by Grottentocht Valkenburg (@grottentocht_valkenburg) on Aug 6, 2020 at 4:07am PDT
Odekerken says the cave was called Valerie 2 by the Germans during the Second World War controlling it from 1943 through 1944 and added they put concrete on the entire cave floor and rounded all the pillars to strengthen them.
Odekerken adds Thompson was there during the liberation of Valkenburg in September of 1944 and says it’s possible he was a part of the Old Hickory Regiment that liberated the area.
In total, five caves around the area were used by Germans to build plane parts with Valerie 2 used as a storage cave but was only operational a few days before liberation.
Odekerken says after liberation, Valkenburg was used as a resort for the soldiers who were on short leave.
The cave was used for teambuilding activities prior to coronavirus and since June has used the cave to give smaller guided tours.
“There are many paintings in our cave and we tell about the origin of the stone, the excavation and all the history regarding the cave,” said Odekerken.
The discovery of “Gimpy Joe” has inspired Odekerken to look closer at the cave’s walls and has found inscriptions dating back to 1702.
If you know who Wm. Thompson (Gimpy Joe) was Odekerken would like to hear from you.