John E. Hill, veteran of the Normandy landings and battle, at his home in Syracuse, USA.
May 21, 2017: A veteran of the Battle of Normandy finds his bracelet, 73 years later!
Source: Sud-Radio
Author: Mathieu D’Hondt
A bracelet lost during the D-Day landings…
It was June 7, 1944, when John E. Hill, then 20 years old, landed on Omaha Beach with his regiment. Although the most terrible fighting on the beaches had taken place the day before, the situation was still far from under control for the Allies, who urgently needed to secure the Cotentin coast in order to establish a strategic beachhead for the delivery of supplies. For this reason, John traveled with his unit to the towns of Isigny-sur-Mer and then Saint-Lô to push back the last pockets of enemy resistance. During one of these missions, his jacket was stolen, containing an object he treasured more than anything: the bracelet his mother had given him before leaving for Europe and the war. Returning to his hometown of Syracuse, New York, at the end of the conflict, the young soldier didn’t dare admit to his mother that he had lost his precious jewel, and he would never hear of it again for 73 years.
…found by a historian 73 years later
So, the now U.S. Army veteran was surprised to learn a few weeks ago that the object had been found in Normandy by a 36-year-old historian, Mathieu Delamotte. The silver bracelet was unearthed from a cleared embankment in the town of Hiesville (Manche) last February. Based on the inscription and the serial number 12141290 engraved on the jewel, Mathieu Delamotte sets out to find its owner, but encounters a major difficulty: the name John E. Hill is a very common surname across the Atlantic. Finally, after researching on the internet and with the invaluable help of a librarian, he manages to find the soldier who – incredibly – is still alive near Syracuse.
2017 news of the Normandy landing beaches
