ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Sgt. Eugene Deibler is a WWII veteran who fought on D-Day. He shared his story with Spectrum News in June. Turns out, another WWII veteran was watching that story and wanted to meet him in person. 

 

What You Need To Know

According to the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, there were about 16 million American soldiers who fought in WWII

Less than 2% of them are still alive today

Researchers estimate about 15 million soldiers died in battle during WWII, but the civilian deaths topped 45 million

 

Officer Simon Gurdal is a WWII veteran from Belgium who fought for the British and later moved to the U.S. He used to meet up with WWII veterans once a month in Hendersonville, but over the years, the group has slowly faded. His friends have either passed away or moved into assisted care facilities.

He wasn’t sure whether there were any other WWII veterans left in the area. When he found out about Deibler, however, family and friends helped the two meet in person in Asheville. 

The smiles began even before the two met. A family friend warned that Gurdal was hard of hearing. Deibler responded, “who isn’t?” Everyone laughed.

As the two greeted eachother, Gurdal noticed the writing on Deibler’s shirt. It said 101st Airborne. Diebler was a paratrooper who landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.

“They had two bridges there we needed to capture,” Deibler said. “We called it 'hell's highway.' It was to help the British get through.”

Eventually, Deibler and other soldiers continued inland and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. 

“The Germans had surrounded us completely,” Deibler said. “They attacked us from every direction, but not all at the same time. If they had, they would have defeated us.”

Gurdal also fought with the British in Operation Market Garden.

“We had just gotten there, and they asked us to put the bayonet on the rifle,” Gurdal said. “I thought we would have to use that on someone. We were scared.”

During that time, Gurdal and his family were living in Belgium. They hid a Jewish girl named Annie in their basement. 

“She was hidden in our house for 4 years, believe it me, it was very dangerous,” Gurdal said. “We were very lucky.”

He didn’t know what happened to the Jewish girl after the war. Gurdal said a family member came to get her, but he never talked to anyone about where she ended up because it was too dangerous. 

The two men have been through a pivotal part of our history, and as it turns out, they have more in common than they thought. They have the same birthday on Nov. 8. Perhaps their next reunion could be a birthday celebration.