Woman makes plea for veterans to help honor her late father

HALL COUNTY, Ga. — A Hall County woman hopes local veterans will answer the call to help honor her late father.

Channel 2's Berndt Petersen talked to Candice Easton as she looked through an old brown album full of scraps of paper, that she says contains the most precious of memories.

"’Mother's cooking doing me lots of good. Please wire.’ My dad wrote that,” Easton said.

Cornelius Cornelssen, Bill to his family and friends, was 19 years old when he fought in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II.

"My dad told me that they would talk about the most important thing. That they all hoped they would be brave,” Easton said.

Cornelssen died earlier this month at the age of 93 and was laid to rest at the Georgia National Cemetery. But his old Army buddies were absent. Almost all of them had already passed away.

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"If he was younger, I'm sure there would have been a lot of people gathered around. But as it happened, there weren't,” Easton said.

That’s why Easton is inviting all local veterans to a special celebration of Pfc. Cornelius Cornelssen’s life. Even though none would have known her father, she hopes many will come.

"Us that are not veterans or service people will never understand and have the same sense of brotherhood and belonging and protecting each other. And I wanted these people to get together for my dad,” Easton said.

The gathering will be held Saturday at noon at the Flower Branch Masonic Lodge.  The address is 5416 Spring St.

Easton says dozens of veterans have emailed to tell her they will be there.

Cox Media Group