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Meri Mion turns 90 tomorrow! She had to wipe away tears as she was presented with the cake during the ceremony in Vicenza, northwest of Venice. The event marked the anniversary of the day the 88th Infantry Division fought its way into the city on April 28, 1945.
According to Huffington Post, the U.S. Army toasted an Italian woman with a birthday cake to replace the one the U.S. soldiers ate as they entered her hometown during one of the final battles of World War II. Mion had to wipe away her tears as she was presented with the cake during the ceremony.
Mion spent the night in with her mother hiding in the attic of their farm. German soldiers had fired on the house, but when she awoke on the morning of her 13th birthday, American soldiers were nearby. In a statement, the US. Army Garrison Italy said Mion's mother baked her a birthday cake and left it on the windowsill to cool. It disappeared, apparently taken by hungry American soldiers who had already been feted by grateful Italians with wine and bread as they entered Vicenza along its main thoroughfare.
77 years later U.S. soldiers returned the cake and Mion was surprised. She marveled "Grazie" and "Mama Mia". The U.S commanders and Italian officials sang Happy Birthday!
"Tomorrow, we will eat that dessert, with all my family remembering this wonderful day that I will never forget!" said Mion