World War II Vet reunites with French family
MANCELONA -- A Northern Michigan man has built a life-long friendship with a family he met more than six decades ago during World Ward II.
When World War II veteran Allen Pecar was deployed to France 66 years ago, he never expected to become friends with a French family living in a village nearby. Despite a tough winter and brutal reality of war an unlikely friendship was built, a friendship that the veteran just couldn't stop thinking about years later when he returned home to Mancelona.
Allen Pecar says, "They had nothing and I talked to some of the Army buddies at Christmas time and we were pooling candy and stuff. We put on a Christmas party for the kids."
With just this old, grainy picture to go by Pecar set forth to find his long lost friends. He sent the picture to a French newspaper and Lucette Gicquel who was just eight years old when she met Pecar, noticed it right away.
Catherine Gicquel, Lucette's daughter says, "My grandparents spoke about the war and they talked about American soldiers who make a very big party in Christmas. My mother remembered the big tree and candy and gifts to them."
A few years ago, after many emails back and forth, Lucette Gicquel and her family made the trip from La Paquiais, France to Mancelona to be reunited with their American war hero. This summer they met up again.
While they may not be able to understand each other perfectly, the language barrier doesn't keep the friends from having fun and remembering tough times spent together decades ago.
Gicquel says, "it's very special history, a lot of generations."
