Alexandra resident Alison Hogue is the niece of Invercargill-born Flight Sergeant Alexander Holms, who died aged 34 after his Stirling Bomber EE872 crashed in Germany during an air raid on September 6, 1943.
The memorial service took place in the German city of Ludwigshafen am Rhein, south of Frankfurt, and included representatives from the United Kingdom air force and the New Zealand defence attache, as well as families of other servicemen killed.
The crash site was discovered after research by a local history group led by German crash site researcher Erik Wieman.
Seven servicemen, including three New Zealanders, were killed and the sole survivor was taken as a prisoner of war.
Mrs Hogue said her uncle’s death was not discussed in the family.
"I knew he’d died in the war but ... it was never talked about."
She found out about the discovery through articles published in the Otago Daily Times , something she was grateful for.
"If it hadn’t have been for them putting it in the newspaper, we never would have got there.
"I felt very privileged to be there."
Several members of her family travelled to Germany for the memorial service.
"We’ll have that for ever."
Her son, who read a statement on behalf of the family, was the same age as Flt Sgt Holms when he died.
She said the ceremony recognised how much had changed since 1943.
Germany and New Zealand were allies now and "it’s a totally different world".
The work and research done on the memorial was unbelievable, she said.
"The RAF guy, he was very apologetic there was no flyover."
Mrs Hogue’s husband, Jeremy, said the experience conveyed the scale of the war.
"[It] brought it home how terrible it must have been — losing family."
- By Ruby Shaw
