WOMAN STAYED IN HER MARRIAGE, AFTER HER HUSBAND DISAPPEARED SIX WEEKS AFTER THEIR MARRIAGE
A couple from Vernon, Texas, Peggy Harris and Billie D. Harris had a love story of six decades, which was filled with twits and questions.
The First Lieutenant Billie was among the Allied invasion force in 1944, where he was deployed to Normandy, France. When Billie went to war, he was married with Peggy for six weeks. On July 17, 1944, Billie went on a mission on northern France to fight against Nazi forces as a fighter pilot.
Billy never returned from that mission, and Peggy waited for to hear her husband’s voice again. But there was no word or letter from Billie.
“Billie was married to me all of his life, and I choose to be married to him all of my life,” Peggy said.
Billie was reported missing in action by US forces, but later reported that Bilie was alive and returned home. Then Peggy received a letter that her husband was dead and buried.
Later, she received another letter with a different cemetary location. As Peggy was tired with misinformations, she waited for decades, but there were no answers.
She then decided to wrote to her congressman, and she demanded answers about her husband. In 2005, the Congressman Mac Thornberry sent her a message that Billie was still listed as “missing in action” in the National Archives.
Later, Billie’s cousin, Alton Harves started to search for information, after the letter of congressman. He wanted to see Billie’s military records, and learned that what Congressman Thornberry said was a lie, because Billie was listed as “killed in action.” His grave was in the American cemetery in Normandy, France.
After Peggy learned her husband’s fate, she started visiting Billie’s cemetary. Peggy would send flowers to her husband’s grave at least ten times a year. When Billie’s plane was shot down in a small village of Les Ventes, France, the main street was named after Billie, as the townspeople wanted to honor Billie’s name for his sacrifice.
Peggy visited Les Ventes in 2012, and the people of the village informed Peggy that her husband heroically maneuvered the plane to avoid hitting into the village and saved lives, as he fought against Nazi forces.
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