Article: During World War II, a US pilot, David Cox, was shot down over Germany and became a prisoner of war. The POW camp, Stalag VII-A, was a terrible place, with little food and bug-infested rations. After a year and a half, Cox was desperate for food. Fearing he would die unless he got something to eat, he traded his treasured gold ring, a gift from his parents inscribed with his name, birthday and hometown , for a couple of bars of chocolate from an Italian POW. The ring next was traded with a Russian soldier for a night's room and board at a bar in Serbia. The bar was owned by the grandparents of Martin Kiss, who received the ring as a good luck charm when he later moved to Germany. He kept the ring in a jar and wondered how to get it back to its rightful owner. He asked his neighbor in Germany, an air traffic controller for the U.S. army, to help him. Searching the Internet, they found a 219 page thesis mentioning the ring. It was written by the husband of Cox's granddaughter. Contacting them, Kiss next mailed the ring to Cox's son (Cox is deceased). The ring and family are now reunited.
Discussion:
- How do think Cox felt to trade the ring? How do you think he would have felt to receive it again?
- How did Cox's family know about the ring? (They probably heard stories about it from Cox)
- If you knew someone going off to war, what would you give them as a good luck amulet?
No comments:
Post a Comment