An Italian Grandmother Receives Back Her Birthday Cake Stolen by US Troops After 77 Years
US Military Holds Ceremony Returning Cake to Mioon After 77 Years
[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Nayeon] An Italian woman who had her birthday cake stolen by U.S. soldiers when she was 13 has been returned the cake after 77 years.
According to foreign media including the AP on the 30th, the U.S. military held a ceremony on April 28 (local time) at the Salvi Garden in Vicenza, Italy, commemorating the urban advance of the 88th Infantry Division during World War II. They presented a birthday cake to 90-year-old grandmother Mary Mion.
The story behind the U.S. military giving the cake to Mion is as follows. On the night of April 28, 1945, during World War II, in the village of San Pietro near Vicenza, Italy, 13-year-old girl Mion was hiding in the attic of a farm to avoid the retreating German troops under U.S. attack.
The next day was Mion’s 13th birthday, and her mother had baked a birthday cake in preparation. However, the cake that had been kept on the windowsill disappeared overnight. Some hungry U.S. soldiers had stolen and eaten it.
Cake with the words "Happy 90th Birthday" / Screenshot from the U.S. Army website / Photo by Yonhap News
View original imageAnd after 77 years, the U.S. military held an event to return the cake to Mion. Hundreds of people including Italian military officials, police, U.S. and Italian war veterans, and local residents attended the event. Colonel Matthew Gomlak, commander of the U.S. forces in Italy, and Sergeant Peter Wallace presented the cake.
The audience sang the birthday song in English and Italian, and Mion expressed her gratitude.
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Despite the decades that have passed, Mion thanked the U.S. military for remembering her and returning the cake, saying, "I will never forget this wonderful day and will remember it as I eat cake with my whole family tomorrow."
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