" Stranger Than Fiction "

This is not what I expected to find in an American Military Cemetery. A little research revealed that over 1,100 German prisoners of war were held in Seattle during WWII. Digging deeper, (forgive my choice of words)
I discovered that Albert Marquardt was sent, along with four other prisoners, on a painting detail in 1945. After drinking lacquer thinner, they all became violently ill, and Marquardt died. It remains a mystery to this day
whether he and the others were hoping to get drunk (as they claimed,) or actually a suicide because he was about to be sent back to Germany. His grave is located in a distant corner, separated from the American graves.
- Fort Lawton Military Cemetery, Seattle, Washington -