In 2013 Belgian Peter Van Pelt came across an intriguing find in a Belgian forest near Dochamps. He discovered part of a GI belt, coins from Morocco, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany, and the dog tags of Frank Norton from Silver Creek, Georgia. After some research, it turned out that T/5 Frank Norton had been killed in the Battle of the Bulge on 6 January 1945 as a member of the 2nd Armored Division’s 82nd Reconnaissance Battalion. Frank Norton in 1945 was buried in the temporary cemetery of Fosses-la-Ville in Belgium before being repatriated to the United States in the late 1940s. Last year, Van Pelt managed to locate some of Frank’s relatives. As soon as he did, he happily returned the GI’s personal belongings to them. Today, the Belgian finder is honoring the American with a plaque and picture near where he fell in 1945. Thanks to Peter Van Pelt for bringing this story to my attention and sharing the picture.
