Soldier keeps message that Germany surrendered...
...and then loses it! http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2008/11/11/402041.html?title=A+WWII+veteran+plays+a+role+in+ending+the+war A WWII veteran plays a role in ending the war Tuesday, November 11, 2008 Post a comment | E-mail this story | Print -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWII Veteran Richard Pond received the telegram that the Germans were surrendering in 1945. HERNANDO COUNTY (Bay News 9)-- It was 1942 and Richard Pond had just gotten out of high school. Pond joined the Army right away. A few years later he was working as a cryptographic editor at the Allied Headquarters in France when a very important message came by telegram. "Everybody was gathered around me as I typed up the message because we just couldn't believe it. This was finally coming to an end," Pond said. The message, which came from the German Army, was just a few lines long. "It just said that they were going to surrender and the time they would surrender," he said. More Information Watch the story More Veterans Day stories Email TV reporter Ferdinand Zogbaum The very next day, on May 7, 1945, General Alfred Jodl, the Chief of the Operations Staff in the German High Command and two other German officers ended their part in the war. Pond remembers Jodl on that day. He even remembers his facial expressions. "Kind of a somber, dower look. Wasn't a happy look that's for sure," he said. Pond said he saved the original message, although he wasn't supposed to. But over the years he lost it. He said he will always remember the part he played in an important moment of history. "I played a very small part in it. But it was just being there as a soldier and serving my country. It was important for me," said Pond. Very important piece of history to lose, isn't it?
...and then loses it! http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2008/11/11/402041.html?title=A+WWII+veteran+plays+a+role+in+ending+the+war A WWII veteran plays a role in ending the war Tuesday, November 11, 2008 Post a comment | E-mail this story | Print -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWII Veteran Richard Pond received the telegram that the Germans were surrendering in 1945. HERNANDO COUNTY (Bay News 9)-- It was 1942 and Richard Pond had just gotten out of high school. Pond joined the Army right away. A few years later he was working as a cryptographic editor at the Allied Headquarters in France when a very important message came by telegram. "Everybody was gathered around me as I typed up the message because we just couldn't believe it. This was finally coming to an end," Pond said. The message, which came from the German Army, was just a few lines long. "It just said that they were going to surrender and the time they would surrender," he said. More Information Watch the story More Veterans Day stories Email TV reporter Ferdinand Zogbaum The very next day, on May 7, 1945, General Alfred Jodl, the Chief of the Operations Staff in the German High Command and two other German officers ended their part in the war. Pond remembers Jodl on that day. He even remembers his facial expressions. "Kind of a somber, dower look. Wasn't a happy look that's for sure," he said. Pond said he saved the original message, although he wasn't supposed to. But over the years he lost it. He said he will always remember the part he played in an important moment of history. "I played a very small part in it. But it was just being there as a soldier and serving my country. It was important for me," said Pond. Very important piece of history to lose, isn't it?