A silver bracelet with the name Leslie H. Boerstler engraved on it has just been returned to its home after it went missing on the battlefield in 1945.
Boerstler was a 1st Lieutenant in the Army, serving in France during World War II when he lost the jewelry. According to his daughter, Joanne Boerstler Noack, the engraved bracelet had been given to Boerstler as a wedding gift from his brand new bride, Joanne's mother, before he left for the war in Europe.
In 2014, the bracelet was found in a foxhole in France by historians, but it took almost a decade for them to track down the family and return the bracelet to them.
With the help of Army veteran Zachariah Fike, it was finally presented to Boerstler's daughter last week in The Woodlands, Texas, 78 years after it had been lost.
Fike told KHOU 11,
To see Joanne put that bracelet on her wrist, it's like her dad giving her a hug 78 years later. It makes all the effort worthwhile while and I'm so happy to see the family's emotions today.
Joanne says that she plans to wear the bracelet in memory of her father who passed away in 2011, but will one day pass the rediscovered family heirloom down to her grandson.
Joanne Noack said during the ceremony,
I'm just in awe of everything today. It's just amazing that people care that much to try to return things.
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