Happy memories flood back for GI's daughter
THE daughter of an American GI has spoken of her joy at discovering she has 10 brothers and sisters she previously knew nothing about.
Pene Pipe from Westward Ho! contacted the
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WARTIME SERVICE: Pene Pipe's father Mitchell Morris (right) who was a paratrooper with the 82nd airborne division from Kentucky and took part in training on Saunton Sands and Woolacombe beach.
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WAITING GAME: Troops enjoy a quiet moment to sit in the sunshine. Pictures courtesy of Tony Koorlander.
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READY TO ROLL: Vehicles on Braunton Burrows prepare to set off on an exercise.
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CATCHING UP: A soldier scans the headlines on a newspaper.
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A SOLDIER'S BEST FRIEND: A dog is unfazed by the activity.
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FIREPOWER: An amphibious vehicle with a rocket-launching platform fires off a salvo.
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AT WORK: Tony Koorlander editing some of the film from the archive.
Journal
after seeing pictures of secret war footage discovered by Bideford man Tony Koorlander.
Pene's father, Mitchell Morris, was a paratrooper with the 82nd airborne division from Kentucky and took part in training on Saunton Sands and Woolacombe beach with the 101st division.
He met Pene's mother, Mary, in Lichfield when she was living in Birmingham and they got married.
He was involved in the D-Day landings but after the war the marriage broke up and he returned to the States, moving to Ohio.
Mary stayed in Birmingham with Pene and her brother.
Pene said: "Years later when we were on holiday in America, I tracked Dad down.
"He had died, but I found out he had remarried and I had 10 brothers and sisters."
Pene said she could not bring herself to knock on her stepmother's door and so returned to England, preferring to send a letter instead.
She was contacted by one of her American sisters who knew all about her.
She said: "They had been trying to find us but in that time we had moved from Birmingham to Devon.
"They were over the moon and I booked a flight and took my mother over there. They welcomed us both with open arms."
The story made front page news both in the
Journal
and in Pene's new-found family's home town.
She added: "My husband and I went out there in 1995 and we bought a house in the same road as my sister. We lived there for seven years and our son still lives there."
The couple returned to England making Westward Ho! their home after Pene's husband suffered an injury at work.
His parents used to own the former Anchor Bar in Westward Ho! and both his parents are buried in the town.
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