A Soldier's Love, page 3

She's 80 years old now, living in Porterville, and again a widow. But just last weekend she realized that the world hasn't forgotten that boy she loved back then – and still loves to this day.
It seems that in 1952, the Netherlands government, in a proclamation signed by Queen Juliana, had awarded Ted a posthumous Bronze Cross for gallantry. The Dutch also erected a monument to Ted, topped by a Star of David, at the place where he was killed.
But after issuing the medal, the Dutch government couldn't find anyone to give it to. So it sat in a government office somewhere. It sat there for 50 years.
Then, through a long and complicated series of events, the guys in the 82nd Airborne Division Association heard about the medal, and managed to track Ethel down.
"We thought it was important that she have it," says Fred Baldino, 81, of Burbank, a friend of Ted's from the 504th. "It was something we could do for Ted."
And so last weekend, at a ceremony at the National Cemetery in Westwood, as some of Ted's gray-haired old buddies looked on, a representative from the Dutch consulate formally presented the medal to Ethel.
"It was just so wonderful of them (the 82nd Airborne Association and others) to do this for me," Ethel says. "Even after all this time, it was like a little bit of closure."
As for the medal itself, Ethel describes it in terms that might also be applied to the wartime love story of the young girl from Fullerton and the handsome young paratrooper.
"It's old, and a little tattered, and a little tarnished.
"But it's still beautiful."

Gordon Dillow may be reached at (714) 796-7953 or by email at GLDillow@aol.com.