WWII soldier’s duffel bag returned 7 decades later

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. — A World War II veteran who served in France during the war has been reunited with his Army-issued duffel bag nearly seven decades after it went missing.

Ninety-two-year-old William Kadar of Merrillville opened a carefully wrapped package Tuesday to find his drab green duffel bag inside. The folded up bag is still stenciled with his name and serial number.

Kadar tells the Post-Tribune he last saw the bag soldiers use for toting their gear in November 1944, a month before he was captured by the Germans.

His granddaughter, Arleen Haas, says a letter in the package says a 16-year-old French boy found the bag in his grandfather’s house, tracked Kadar down and sent it to him.

Haas says her family hopes to speak to the boy through Skype soon.