Belgian War Grave Burst

Tombstone with memorial plaque:
1940-1945
To our fallen soldier
Maurice MENSCHAERT
+ In the field 29-11-1939 "

Lieutenant Maurice Menschaert and Private Porton had a disagreement over a leave issue, but they pushed their disagreement to the limit in November 1939.
When Private Porton was punished by the lieutenant, he aimed for revenge. Maurice Menschaert was shot by soldier Porton in Ougrée before the war broke out.
J.L. Porton from Schaerbeek was sentenced to death after a 25-minute trial.
A few days after his death (Monday, December 4, 1939), Menschaert was buried with military honors in his hometown of Burst.
Due to the outbreak of the war, the subsequent German occupation and the liberation, Lieutenant Menschaert's sacrifice was forgotten when the lists of war victims, based on deaths after the official declaration of war on 10 May 1940, were drawn up.

His grave in Burst disappeared during an eviction of the municipal cemetery.
In 2019, this came to the attention of the local chapter of the National Fighters Union.
Together with the municipal council, they ensured that Lieutenant Menschaert again received a tombstone at the place where he was once buried.

The name of the man, commander of the Staff Company of the 29th Line Regiment who was murdered by a subordinate just before the war, now also adorns the war memorial at the church.

Source : War Heritage Institute
HLN - Newspaper article 9-3-2021

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Source

• Text: Marie-Christine Vinck
• Photos: Marie-Christine Vinck