Social media helps French police find WWI soldier's relative
Posted February 23, 2018 6:00 am
PARIS (AP) - A fallen soldier's letter from World War I that was discovered in France has touched authorities so much they launched a successful search for the soldier's living relatives.
The handwritten missive was written on May 27, 1915, from the Somme by 24-year-old Frenchman Sgt. Jean Soulagnes to a friend. Soulagnes was killed in fighting 12 days later in the battle of Hebuterne.
The letter was found by Marseille police in February in a search following a burglary.
With the aid of social media, authorities found Soulagnes' great-grandnephew, Stephane Drouhot. He attended a ceremony Friday at a Marseille police station where he was given the letter.
A copy of a 1915 letter by French WWI soldier Sgt. Jean Soulagnes is pictured in Marseille, southern France, Friday Feb.23, 2018. The handwritten missive was written on May 27, 1915 from the Somme by 24-year-old Soulagnes to a friend. Soulagnes was killed in fighting 12 days later in the battle of Hebuterne. With the aid of social media, authorities traced Soulagnes' great-grandnephew Stephane Drouhot who attended a ceremony at a Marseille police station where he was given the letter. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
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