Some stories are so incredible that unless you were there to witness them unfold you might not believe them. Everything I'm about to tell you I witnessed.
My wife, her sister and our daughter are very interested in our family genealogy and have spent many an hour on Ancestry.com piecing together the family tree. My wife's grandfather died fighting in World War II during the Battle of the Bulge. Through her research, my wife's sister found the name of someone linked to her grandfather, Arnald Gabriel. Mr. Gabriel achieved the rank of Colonel and was the Commander and Conductor of the Air Force Band for many years. In July 2008 my wife reached out to him and it turned out that he did in fact know her grandfather, AND he was conducting an orchestra that very week in Orlando. What are the odds that out of the entire world, he's in our hometown the week she reaches out to him?? He agreed to meet her for lunch and invited us to enjoy the concert. Over the years that we've known him he's shared many stories about her grandfather and their war experience. He has also grown close to my wife's father.
My wife's grandfather was buried in Margraten, in the Netherlands. Local families volunteer to take care of the cemetary. During the war, soldiers would scratch or write their serial number on the bottom of their canteens so they could keep track of them. Items like these were not buried with the soldiers, if not reusable they were buried separately at a nearby site.
In July 2025 my wife received a message on Ancestry.com. A gentleman who loves history, found a canteen and the spoon among other objects while using his metal detector. On the bottom of the canteen he saw what looked like a serial number scratched into it. Being a history buff, he took the time to research the serial number and link it back to us through Ancestry.com and shipped it to us. What are the odds???
It was very emotional for my wife to receive the canteen. I painted this for her and to try and preserve this amazing story for a few more generations.
Some stories are so incredible that unless you were there to witness them unfold you might not believe them. Everything I'm about to tell you I witnessed.
My wife, her sister and our daughter are very interested in our family genealogy and have spent many an hour on Ancestry.com piecing together the family tree. My wife's grandfather died fighting in World War II during the Battle of the Bulge. Through her research, my wife's sister found the name of someone linked to her grandfather, Arnald Gabriel. Mr. Gabriel achieved the rank of Colonel and was the Commander and Conductor of the Air Force Band for many years. In July 2008 my wife reached out to him and it turned out that he did in fact know her grandfather, AND he was conducting an orchestra that very week in Orlando. What are the odds that out of the entire world, he's in our hometown the week she reaches out to him?? He agreed to meet her for lunch and invited us to enjoy the concert. Over the years that we've known him he's shared many stories about her grandfather and their war experience. He has also grown close to my wife's father.
My wife's grandfather was buried in Margraten, in the Netherlands. Local families volunteer to take care of the cemetary. During the war, soldiers would scratch or write their serial number on the bottom of their canteens so they could keep track of them. Items like these were not buried with the soldiers, if not reusable they were buried separately at a nearby site.
In July 2025 my wife received a message on Ancestry.com. A gentleman who loves history, found a canteen and the spoon among other objects while using his metal detector. On the bottom of the canteen he saw what looked like a serial number scratched into it. Being a history buff, he took the time to research the serial number and link it back to us through Ancestry.com and shipped it to us. What are the odds???
It was very emotional for my wife to receive the canteen. I painted this for her and to try and preserve this amazing story for a few more generations.