Today I took possession of the pocket knife owned by Prentice W. Ball. This WWII relic was found on April 1, 2018, by Frank van Vark and my dad, Ronald van Meesen. Traveling to Germany, me and my dad went back to the original location and foxhole where the knife was found.
In March 1945 Pfc Ball’s unit, A Company, 117th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division was in position preparing for their offensive farther into Germany. On March 22, 1945, in the woods south of Alpen, Germany, Pfc Ball and his platoon sat huddled in their foxholes awaiting orders to move forward and engage the enemy.
The next day, March 23, 1945, the 117th Regiment received the orders to move closer to the Rhine River to the town of Wallach. During this move, Prentice W. Ball apparently dropped his knife in the foxhole as his unit was moving out.
March 24, A & B Company of the 117th crossed the Rhine River at Wallach and took the town of Ork, capturing 150 German prisoners in the process.
Fast forward 73 years. The recovered relic is an original Case XX Hunter’s knife with a bakelite handle. It stayed in good condition for all those years due to the superior construction and materials used in the manufacture of the knife.
During the second trip to the site, I captured the scene on film where Pfc Ball’s knife was found. I can now send the knife back to Myra Miller (USA). Myra and team member, Sara Collins, will personally deliver the knife to the family in Alabama. A ceremony will be held on May 20, 2018 at 2:00 pm in Cullman, Alabama at West Point High School.
One thought to “Returning a WWII Relic to the family!”
Joe,
That is very cool and neat how well the knife has stood the test of time still guarding the foxhole all these years ….Would love to see the Family getting the knife back …Hope you are doing well and happy …Tell you Dad hello for me too… Good job and all the best to you Joe …
Ol Sgt. Kenny Love – Cold War Veteran
Bravo Battery 1/55 ADA (V)
5th Infantry Division (M)