Syracuse, Nebraska — Gerri Eisenhauer’s father, Military Pvt. William Walters, was shipped off to World Conflict II earlier than she was even born.
In 1944, her household acquired again his physique and a U.S. authorities letter that solely mentioned he had died someplace in France.
“I simply at all times puzzled, the place he died, how he died, it was just a bit a part of a puzzle piece that was lacking in my life,” Eisenhauer informed CBS Information.
For many years, the household was resigned to the truth that it could by no means know. That’s, till just a few months in the past.
Eisenhauer was at her dwelling in Syracuse, Nebraska, this previous summer season when she acquired a message from Christophe Ligere, a French historian, from the small village of Grez-sur-Loing, in central France. The message learn, partially, “On the event of the eightieth anniversary of the liberation of France, we pay tribute to Personal William Walters.”
Ligere had discovered Walters’ identify within the diary of an eyewitness to his demise, and he instantly felt like he needed to discover Walters’ household. Ligere carried out some analysis and situated the Walters’ household tree, and from there he discovered the net obituary of one other relative of Eisenhauer, by means of which he left her that message.
“We had been in search of our soldier,” Eisenhauer’s daughter, Jan Moore, informed CBS Information. “We didn’t know that he was their soldier, too.”
As Eisenhauer discovered from Ligere, in August 1944, American troops started liberating the village of Grez-sur-Loing. It was a joyous day, however there was one casualty: whereas crossing the Loing River into city, Walters’ boat capsized and he drowned on the age of 20.
After Ligere tracked down Walters’ household, he invited them to France to honor their shared hero and the sacrifice he made right here. Eisenhauer and her daughter and son, Jan and Allen, made the journey in September.
Marc Perrot had witnessed Walters’ demise on the age of 13.
“They went in search of him and located him,” Perrot defined in an interview with France Télévisions. “They did numerous issues to attempt to revive him, nevertheless it did not work.”
Perrot met Eisenhauer and confirmed her the place they laid her father to relaxation previous to his physique being returned to the U.S.
“They coated him with flowers,” Eisenhauer mentioned of the French. “It is simply wonderful, the care that they gave him.”
This week, Eisenhauer returned to her father’s grave in Cass County, Nebraska.
“First time I have been right here and had the solutions,” Eisenhauer mentioned.
She says she now feels at peace, and it is all because of the grateful individuals of France, who even 80 years on, nonetheless see the U.S. by means of the prism of our higher angels.
“It is crucial as a result of the…younger individuals come from the US…to battle for democracy…in France,” Ligere informed CBS Information.
Extra from CBS Information
