OCR Text |
Show Sheets Repay War Hero's Debt to Belgians WINCHESTER, MASS. Repaying Repay-ing a wartime debt. Col. John Han-Ion, Han-Ion, Winchester's war hero, has presented pre-sented each of 24 villagers in Hem-roulle, Hem-roulle, Belgium, with a pair of bedsheets. During the critical days of the Battle of the Bulge in 1944, Colonel Hanlon had promised the villagers he would discharge the debt after they had given their irreplaceable bedsheets to camouflage his para chute infantrymen who had dropped onto the surrounding snow-covered fields. Colonel Hanlon credited the villagers' sacrifice with saving the lives of many men in the 502nd parachute infantry. Each of the sheets presented ta the villagers was marked with the name of a Winchester donor. More than 600 sheets also were presented to the old people's home of nearby Bastogne. |