Belgian teen honors WWII veterans

Palm Coast Observer
Neighbors

Eighteen-year-old Jelle Thys, of Belgium, stood with a colorful thumbtack in his hand Thursday, Aug. 9, at the Beach House Beanery. He found his home country, and forever left his mark on Flagler Beach.

But Thys had already left a mark on Flagler Beach residents Tom and Barb Hury, whom he was visiting.

The three connected in Belgium last year, when Tom and his father, Leo, then 91, attended the March of the 83rd Infantry, which re-enacted the liberation of five villages in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. It was at that time that the teenager and Leo Hury, a WWII Veteran of the 83rd Infantry, became close friends.

But Leo wasn’t the first veteran to be befriended by Thys, and he will not be the last.

Growing up, Thys was always interested in World War II. When he was 8 years old, he went to Normandy on vacation with his family. He recalls being very impressed by the tanks. And every year his interest in the war, especially the battle that liberated his country from Germany, grew larger and larger.

In 2008, he went to Normandy again and had the chance to meet some veterans. From that year on, Thys started participating in the re-enactments and has met 150 World War II veterans from the United States.

To honors those veterans that he has met, Thys created a website, www.normandytothebulge.be. Each American World War II veteran that this young man has met is honored with their own page.

“Not every Belgian is into World War II like I am,” Thys said. “But you see that it’s important; what the American people did during World War II for us. If there is a commemoration somewhere, a lot of people turn up there. A lot of people are thankful for what has been done by the Americans.”