Have you ever wondered how it would feel to have your birthday cake stolen? This happened to Meri Mion, who experienced this incident on her 13th birthday. At the time, WWII was raging on, and she happened to be an Italian resident. You can only imagine having to live through the horrors of war but also having your cake stolen by soldiers who were sent to liberate the place? Hearing this story, the U.S. Army Garrison stationed in Italy decided to make it up to her by presenting a whole new cake for her 90th birthday.
Meri Mion, who was 13, had to go through the horrors of a war fought by men who thought they were gods. On top of that, her birthday cake was taken right off the window sill where it was cooling. The fact that it was taken by soldiers who freed her town of San Pietro, in Gù, a small commune in north-eastern Italy located in the Province of Padua, Italy, did make it a little easier to deal with. Still, it was one birthday that she would remember as the one where soldiers stole her birthday cake.
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At least 19 soldiers were killed or hurt on April 29, 1945. A report on the U.S. Army’s website states that- “Infantry Division Soldiers battled German defenders. Several U.S. tanks were destroyed and at least 19 U.S. Soldiers were killed or wounded. Other Americans, from the 91st Infantry Division, drove north from the Riviera Berica into the city. Later, they paraded through Corso Palladio, Vicenza’s famous thoroughfare, where Italians offered them bread and wine.”
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Mion and her mother hid from German soldiers in the attic of her Northern Italian farmhouse. The next day, when she came out of hiding, her mom baked her a birthday cake to celebrate her 13th birthday and put it on the windowsill to cool down.
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Unfortunately, Mion never got to taste the cake her mother made. Col. Matthew Gomlak, who is in charge of the U.S. Army Garrison in Italy, said that “resourceful American soldiers” had made off with her cake.
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Soldiers took Mion’s birthday cake right before she could eat it. They probably thought it was a gift and never knew it was a birthday cake for a kid. Col. Matthew Gomlak said, “Her happiness turned into disappointment.”
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The U.S. Army Garrison in Italy wanted to make it up to her by giving her a brand new cake for her 90th birthday, after 77 years. The 88th Infantry Division got together to celebrate her 90th birthday and the 77th anniversary of the U.S. victory. They did this at Giardini Salvi, a garden in Vicenza. The people of Vincenza were very welcoming of the soldiers during the war, and Gomlak said, “That warm welcome by the people of Vicenza continues to this day.”
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Col. Gomlak and Sgt. Peter Wallis gave Mion a new cake with the words “Happy 90th Birthday” written on it. Wallis describes the event by saying- “It was a little awkward, but it makes me feel great to give her the cake.”
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A chocolate shell filled with fruit and small meringue cookies was placed on top of the big white birthday cake. After giving Mion the cake, the soldiers even sang “Happy Birthday” to her in English and Italian, which brought her to tears.
Mion said, “Tomorrow, we will eat that dessert with all my family remembering this wonderful day that I will never forget.”
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Eighty years is a long time to wait for a piece of birthday cake, but it looks like the wait was worth it. To celebrate Mion’s birthday, the military invited hundreds of people from the area, as well as soldiers, military police, and veterans. Even local residents showed up to celebrate her long-awaited birthday.
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World War II was over for good on September 2, 1945, which was four months and five days after Mion turned 13. No one knows how the military found out that Mion didn’t get her cake, but everyone at Giardini Salvi that day was glad they did. But you can watch the video of her 90th Birthday’s celebration event right here.