A Moving Story of Closure After 68 Years.

**big ned** · 06-20-2012, 04:17 PM

Hi Folks,

I saw this today and it moved me greatly in several different ways. The wonderful doggedness of a widow who needed closure, the careless, disgraceful ineptitude of politicians and bureaucrats, and the genuine thanks of small town for this man's sacrifice.

Nothing else needs be said.

WWII widow finally finds out what happened to her missing husband. [VIDEO]

Regards, Ned.

**Normandie** · 06-20-2012, 04:36 PM

wow, I got chills there!
Not only the story, but the fact I've been to that cemetery in Normandie

Thank you Ned!

**Lowboy** · 06-20-2012, 04:37 PM

It's so hard to believe that nobody could help her all these years.. very sad.
Thank you for posting.

**bigmacglenn** · 06-20-2012, 04:39 PM

Beautiful story...Thank you for sharing! My grandfather was shot through the hand and into the stomach parachuting into France on D-Day...101st Airborne.

**Wolfe1165** · 06-20-2012, 04:43 PM

Thanks for sharing this! Good to know his acts are still celebrated somewhere.

**MD Helmets** · 06-20-2012, 04:45 PM

You would think her letter to the Congressman would take precedence, considering her age and, more importantly, her own sacrifice of living without knowing for 70 years. Imagine how lonely she has been for all those years. I wonder if the Congressman ever thought of how great she would have viewed him had his office actually figured this out. Instead, he looks like a jerk, and that's good, he should look like one. Thanks for posting, Ned! A happy ending to a tragic life story.

**tempelhof** · 06-20-2012, 05:27 PM

ned, i don't think i'm going to hear or see a more remarkable story than this in a long, long time.

thank you so much for posting.

**Vegard T** · 06-20-2012, 07:18 PM

My grandmother lived without knowing what had happened to her brother for about 75 years. The last time she saw him was in 1934 when he started working on a ship, I am not sure of the whole story, but I think he wrote letters etc. She knew he must have been on a ship during the war and was just waiting for him to return. In the days of the liberation, the family celebrated and sat up waiting for him to come home, they waited for many many days and months, but after a while they had to realize he was not coming.
After many years of not knowing what happened, my grandmother wrote a letter to the red cross asking for information, she was told that he had been killed, nothing more.

I had heard a bit about it when I grew up(I had not gotten the "disease" yet then and not much was said), but one day I just randomly thought of it, and decided to find out more about it, I asked my grandmother for information, but she had no information regarding his service or anything else, she only knew that he did not come home from the war.

After a long time of gathering information, I found a book about all the Norwegian casualties during the war, and there he was. KIA in the Norwegian Merchant fleet in 1943, torpedoed by a German U-boat in the middle of the Atlantic. I printed out the information, framed it and gave it to her. She was very happy to finally find out what had happened, nearly 75 years after he had died, she saw his face again in the picture. She said "He always used to have his hair like that, I remember it well". She has hung it on the wall, and even though she has started to get a bit forgetful, she always says to my relatives: "It was very nice of him to give me that picture, I am very very happy for it".

I am trying to get his medals awarded Post mortem, I sent a letter with all the information etc required a little over 1 year ago to the Norwegian Ministry of Defense, but I still haven't got an answer, I tried to call the guy I sent it to yesterday, but his number was not in use and there was no other contact information. I then had to send an email directly to the Ministry of Defense contact-email at about 12 AM yesterday, but I haven't gotten an answer yet, hope I get an answer soon.

**Ben Evans** · 06-20-2012, 07:32 PM

Fantastic and moving story

**MD Helmets** · 06-20-2012, 07:41 PM

by Collectorww2

My grandmother lived without knowing what had happened to her brother for about 75 years. The last time she saw him was in 1934 when he started working on a ship, I am not sure of the whole story, but I think he wrote letters etc. She knew he must have been on a ship during the war and was just waiting for him to return. In the days of the liberation, the family celebrated and sat up waiting for him to come home, they waited for many many days and months, but after a while they had to realize he was not coming.
After many years of not knowing what happened, my grandmother wrote a letter to the red cross asking for information, she was told that he had been killed, nothing more.

I had heard a bit about it when I grew up(I had not gotten the "disease" yet then and not much was said), but one day I just randomly thought of it, and decided to find out more about it, I asked my grandmother for information, but she had no information regarding his service or anything else, she only knew that he did not come home from the war.

After a long time of gathering information, I found a book about all the Norwegian casualties during the war, and there he was. KIA in the Norwegian Merchant fleet in 1943, torpedoed by a German U-boat in the middle of the Atlantic. I printed out the information, framed it and gave it to her. She was very happy to finally find out what had happened, nearly 75 years after he had died, she saw his face again in the picture. She said "He always used to have his hair like that, I remember it well". She has hung it on the wall, and even though she has started to get a bit forgetful, she always says to my relatives: "It was very nice of him to give me that picture, I am very very happy for it".

I am trying to get his medals awarded Post mortem, I sent a letter with all the information etc required a little over 1 year ago to the Norwegian Ministry of Defense, but I still haven't got an answer, I tried to call the guy I sent it to yesterday, but his number was not in use and there was no other contact information. I then had to send an email directly to the Ministry of Defense contact-email at about 12 AM yesterday, but I haven't gotten an answer yet, hope I get an answer soon.

I don't know how it works over there, but in the States agencies respond better when you start showing up on their doorstep and make it known that you won't be going away. Most agencies figure you will just go away after not getting a reply. When I need something done, I just annoy the hell out of them until they make it happen. Truy that, you might get somewhere.