Major John Olmstead

[esther]

First of all my compliments for this terriffic website.
I noticed that a member of one of the Jedburgh teams is missing. I wasn't able to find the name John Olmstead, an American Major who was dropped in Hoge Hexel on 9 september 1944, alongside John "Bunny" Austin and Major Henk Brinkgreve. Major Olmstead was the only member of the team who survived the war.
More information about Major Omstead can be found in the books written by Dutchman C.B. Cornelissen, who has specialised in wartime history in particular concerning in the east of Holland.

Regards,
Esther

 

[John Robertson]

Esther
I have complete list of Jedburghs.
I can include him if you have a photograph or if he received any awards.
John

 

[Willem]

John Olmsted was dropped with the rest of team Dudley on the 11 th of september 1944 on dropzone "Evert" which is close the the country town of Ommen in the province of Overijssel, The Netherlands. He was welcomed by Jaap Beekman, the husband of Yvonne Beekman. Olmsted was sent through enemy lines along with 119 airbornes, pilotes and other refuges to the liberated southern part of Holland to report about the situation in Overijssel.He left his team on the 16 th of november and he reached Nijmegen in the company of only 7 out of the 119 who left. An aunt of my wife is named Sjoerdsma, he bother was Sjoerd Sjoerdsma who was Major Brinkgreve's second WT operator after John Austin was arrested bij the SD a few days after John had left his team.

 

[Willem]

I found a book about the adventures of Major John Olmsted in Holland. It's called 'Achter de linies, een geheime operatie in Nederland'(Behind the lines, a secret operation in The Netherlands) ISBN number 9012065054.
I was wrong about the DZ, it was near Hoge Hexel, close to Wierden.