Visit to Bremen, Ohio

Today we will meet for the first time Terry Burnworth, grand nephew of Sergeant Willis Burnworth and his spouse Shirley.

The directions we received from his son Ben were very clear and we arrive without problems their house. We got a warm welcome from Shirley and Terry.

They are surprised that a Belgian couple takes the time and effort to visit a distant relative of a fallen American soldier. He shows us a bunch of photographs of his family. There is even a picture of Willis in uniform. Before we know it, its time for lunch.

We go to Lancaster for lunch. They invite us to pray just before we start eating. This is not my cup of tea, but I choose to respect their customs and we take each other's hand. In his prayer, he thanks for the food and the opportunity to meet us.

In the afternoon, Terry shows the center of the village and he drives to the Grandview Cemetery. Most of the members of the Burnworth family are buried here: Sgt Willis Burnworth's parents, several of his sisters and nephews and nieces. We notice that many graves are decorated with the American flag. They also commemorate the deceased soldiers during Memorial Day.

Altough Sgt Willis Burnworth is buried in Waregem, they have placed a headstone beside the grave of his parents. We put some flowers in front of the headstone and Colette asks if Terry wants to address a few words.

Back at their home, we met Mike and Sue, an other grand nephew.

It was a heavily loaded day with a lof of mixed emotions.