WATCH: Jennifer Palma reports on a heartfelt WWII reunion in Langley
A heartfelt reunion between families impacted by the Second World War took place in Langley Sunday. The family of Cpl. Clifford Kimmel, who died in Italy during the war, met with members of a local dragon boat team and a WWII vet, who organized a tribute to the fallen solider.
When Bill Nicholson, 91, recently heard that the Abreast With FORT-itude dragon boat team was competing in the Italian city of Ravenna, he asked them to visit Kimmel’s grave. Like Nicholson, Kimmel was a “D-Day Dodger,” the derisive nickname Allied servicemen in France gave to colleagues based in Italy.
Last month, members of the Abreast With FORT-itude team, which is made up of breast cancer survivors, laid a special poppy at Kimmel’s grave and read a letter that Nicholson wrote to the solider he never met.
“It was a huge honour to be able to go and fulfill Bill’s wishes,” says team member Lisa Webb. “Having two grandfathers who fought in wars as well. It was very special.”
On Sunday, Nicholson met Kimmel’s youngest brother Dave, a meeting that stirred up strong memories. In all, Kimmel’s family lost three sons in the war.
“I’ve tried to eliminate the 1940s completely out of my mind,” says Dave Kimmel. “It’s something you do because it was really, really a bad time.”
-with files from Jennifer Palma
WATCH: Members of the Abreast With FORT-itude dragon boat team and WWII veteran Bill Nicholson honour a fallen soldier
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