@usmccam I thought you might want to read this account from World War II. My uncle, Eugene Mulholland, was a pilot and was shot down over Paris and evaded capture. He was hidden by farmers and an underground that helped him escape and return to America after the war was over. He had a watch that was inscribed with his name and information that he had to sell for money. It was about a year and a half after the war that he found his way back home. At one of the farms, the Gestapo came looking for him, and the farmer told them he was a deaf mute farm hand. He was so hungry and was eating in the barn when they opened the door that he didn't react or turn around, and that spared his life. His family thought he had been killed until he came home unexpectedly. Some years later, his watch was returned to him because of his military identification on it. He didn't talk about this, and I didn't know any of it as I was growing up.

Here's a link
https://100thbg.com/index.php?option=com_bombgrp&view=personnel&Itemid=334&id=1615

My dad's uncle was on an amphibious vehicle that landed off of Normandy beach, and because he was very tall, he was rescuing the soldiers who couldn't swim and who were not tall enough to stand in the deep water. They had a lot of heavy gear dragging them down and the water was too deep where the men were dropped off and some of them drowned. My great uncle survived that invasion, and later was chosen to go with Patton to help rescue the Lipizzan horses. I am a horse lover (and I have a horse that I ride), and this story about the Lipizzans kind of gets to me because that are so beautiful. The Temple Lipizzans are stabled on a farm not far from where I live and I have seen their performances. I like to drive past the farm and see them in the fields. My horse is a Tennessee Walker and I ride him out in the farm country where he is boarded.

Hugs to you and blessings....