SUN CITY – In World War II, millions of servicemen in Allied countries traveled all over Europe, winning the war and connecting with citizens of countries all over Europe.
George Kays (99) liberated the French town of Rombas in 1944. At the time, Sun City resident Margot Sormane was an 8-year-old girl living in the town, which was under German occupation. Today, they meet again in Sun City for a visit that bridged memories and a gap of more than 70 years. (Photo provided)
Many international and cross-cultural marriages and families began despite the difficulties of war. Men and women who never imagined a future thousands of miles from home reached across the differences of culture and the chasms of distance and connected with each other in a new global community. None of these relationships, however, was achieved quite like those among Margot Hoeffler of Rombas, France, and Americans Walter Sormane and George Kays. Their story is a fascinating and wonderful example of the adage that it really is a small world after all.
But sometimes you have to travel around in the world several times to meet all your new friends, and your future husbands and wives.
Margot was an eight-year-old child in the town of Rombas (pronounced ROMbah) in France, near the Belgian border. It was early September, 1944. One day, she noticed that the soldiers in her town wore different uniforms and helmets and spoke a different language. They were Americans, liberating her town after more than four years of German occupation in World War II. Despite being located directly in the path of the Allied advance toward Germany, Rombas had been spared from the horrors of bombing and combat.
“I remember seeing the American soldiers and they seemed friendly,” Margot said. “In my school, we always had to say “Heil Hitler” when the Germans were here, but now that stopped.”
Among the American liberators was George Kays, a 29-year-old lieutenant in the U.S. Army’s 243rd artillery battalion. His photograph was taken that month, and thus began the first connection in this story – Kays with the Town of Rombas.
After peace and stability returned to France after the war, Kays returned home with his military buddies and Margot finished her education. By 1956, at the age of 20, she was working in a U.S. army Quartermaster depot in Metz, a major French city near Rombas. She worked in t he same building as Walter Sormane, who enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1954 and was assigned to the Quartermaster depot as a traffic manager. Margot and Walter met and began this story’s second connection, a friendship that blossomed into romance and plans for marriage.
Kays featured in a Rombas magazine, during a visit to the town he helped liberate. He’s here in front of a monument commemorating the liberation. (Photo provided / Rombas Magazine)
Neither George, Margot, or Walter knew then that their “connections” would eventually all come together in the Chicago area, U.S.A.
“Walter left France in 1957, when his enlistment was up, but we had decided to get married as soon as possible,” Margot recalled. “He lived in the Chicago area, where he grew up. In August, 1958, he got three weeks’ vacation and returned to Rombas. We were married in civil and religious ceremonies on Sept. 6. Then his vacation was up and he returned home. I had to wait seven weeks to get a visa to come to America, and I arrived in October. We lived in an apartment in Berwyn for two months.”
Fast forward to 2014. Walter and Margot celebrated their 12th year in Sun City, having moved to Huntley after 35 years in Schaumburg. It also was exactly 70 years after the liberation of her town in France, and the folks in Rombas were planning a big celebration.
Back to George Kays. Now 99 years old, he was invited, along with many other Americans who were in Rombas in 1944, to join in the celebration. He returned for the observance, accompanied by his son, Randy, and daughter Jolie Fredette.
“Walter and I have returned to Rombas several times to visit my family members and friends in Rombas,” Margo said. “But we did not make it to the observance in July last year. Shortly after that, an article and photo appeared in a French newspaper, and one of my sisters sent me a copy. It stated that George Kays lived in the Chicago area. I decided that I had to meet this man.
“Soon after, I found out that a 30-page magazine had been published, describing the celebration that occurred from September 9-24 in 2014. My friend, Angele Messina, who now lives in Buffalo, New York, received a copy of this magazine from her friends in Rombas, and she told me how to get a copy of it. On January 4, 2015, I wrote to the mayor and asked for a copy, and I received it promptly. Walter and I then went to Rombas in April of this year to visit my family members who live in the villages near Rombas. On Apr. 9, we went to the mayor’s office and we met a wonderful man, Jean-Louis Pironto, who spoke perfect English.
Then something happened that really made my day. Mr. Pironto had a record of all the people who attended the celebration in 2014, and he gave me Mr. Kays’ and his daughter’s e-mail addresses. This created the final connection – Kays with Margot and Walter. We found out that they live in Downers Grove, that was really exciting,” Margot said. “When I returned home, I emailed Jolie and several emails later, she and George came here with his daughter and son-in-law, Ken Fredette, on May 23, for lunch. We had a very nice visit. George is in a wheelchair a lot, but his memory is sharp and he remembers his wartime experiences.”
Kays landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy in August 6, 1944. At the battle of St. Malo he was wounded and later received a Purple Heart. “He had some very interesting stories to tell when he was here,” Margot said. “It was so wonderful to meet him.”
Capping all of these delightful connections, Margot and Walter have been invited and plan to attend George’s 100th birthday party in Indiana on July 25. “We are looking forward to a big day there,” Margot said.
Connections don’t get any better than that.
