BLANCHARDVILLE - The son of a Monroe World War II veteran whose uniform is on display at a museum in Normandy, France, will show a presentation about his father's life in Blanchardville on Saturday.
Bill Logeson, son of the late Robert Logeson, said he thought his father's story, which extends from Monroe to the battlefields of WWII, would be interesting for people to hear.
Robert, a tech sergeant for the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army, was originally from Blanchardville, said his daughter Peg Roddick. After the war ended, he moved to Monroe, where he worked for Dearth Motors until his death in 1998.
While serving with the 101st, Robert participated in the legendary Allied landings in Normandy, France. Decades later, a farmer would find the soldier's boots and field jacket buried in a Normandy field along with identification.
"In Vietnam, at least, if you needed new gear, you would ask for new ones and throw away the old ones," said Bill, himself a veteran of the Vietnam War. "So I'm pretty sure that's what happened here."
In 2013, a curator from the Musee Airborne in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, a French museum dedicated to the American paratroopers of the Normandy landings, contacted Robert's descendants with the news that his uniform had been found.
"I assumed it wasn't real," Peg said.
But Bill traveled to the museum and confirmed that his father's equipment had indeed been found.
Bill said it was possible that Robert's boots, currently on display at the Musee Airborne, were originally the boots of his brother James Lageson, who once lent Robert his boots after Robert's boots became too worn out.
Peg added that, as a curious footnote to her father's career, a presumed clerical error with the U.S. Army changed the family name from Lageson to Logeson. Some members of the family changed the name back after the war; Robert did not.
Bill said neither his father nor his two uncles, who also served in WWII, often spoke of their service.
"The curator of the museum said a lot of veterans were like that," Bill said. "They wouldn't talk with their families about it, but they would talk to him."
Bill said he wanted to share his father's life with other people in his hometown and would talk about the path Robert took during WWII.
A highlight of Robert's career led him to participate in the 101st Division's capture of the Kehlsteinhaus in Obersalzberg, Germany, the chalet retreat of Adolf Hitler himself, Bill said.
"I just think it's an interesting story that people will want to hear," Bill said.
Bill Logeson's presentation will take place at the Senior Citizens Aging Services at 218 Mason St. in Blanchardville at 2 p.m.
Bill Logeson, son of the late Robert Logeson, said he thought his father's story, which extends from Monroe to the battlefields of WWII, would be interesting for people to hear.
Robert, a tech sergeant for the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army, was originally from Blanchardville, said his daughter Peg Roddick. After the war ended, he moved to Monroe, where he worked for Dearth Motors until his death in 1998.
While serving with the 101st, Robert participated in the legendary Allied landings in Normandy, France. Decades later, a farmer would find the soldier's boots and field jacket buried in a Normandy field along with identification.
"In Vietnam, at least, if you needed new gear, you would ask for new ones and throw away the old ones," said Bill, himself a veteran of the Vietnam War. "So I'm pretty sure that's what happened here."
In 2013, a curator from the Musee Airborne in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, a French museum dedicated to the American paratroopers of the Normandy landings, contacted Robert's descendants with the news that his uniform had been found.
"I assumed it wasn't real," Peg said.
But Bill traveled to the museum and confirmed that his father's equipment had indeed been found.
Bill said it was possible that Robert's boots, currently on display at the Musee Airborne, were originally the boots of his brother James Lageson, who once lent Robert his boots after Robert's boots became too worn out.
Peg added that, as a curious footnote to her father's career, a presumed clerical error with the U.S. Army changed the family name from Lageson to Logeson. Some members of the family changed the name back after the war; Robert did not.
Bill said neither his father nor his two uncles, who also served in WWII, often spoke of their service.
"The curator of the museum said a lot of veterans were like that," Bill said. "They wouldn't talk with their families about it, but they would talk to him."
Bill said he wanted to share his father's life with other people in his hometown and would talk about the path Robert took during WWII.
A highlight of Robert's career led him to participate in the 101st Division's capture of the Kehlsteinhaus in Obersalzberg, Germany, the chalet retreat of Adolf Hitler himself, Bill said.
"I just think it's an interesting story that people will want to hear," Bill said.
Bill Logeson's presentation will take place at the Senior Citizens Aging Services at 218 Mason St. in Blanchardville at 2 p.m.