The 80-year journey of a long-lost bracelet turned the page on a new chapter with its transatlantic trip home to Houston on Tuesday.
Joan Sheehan, a Houston resident and the daughter of a U.S. soldier who served in France during World War II, was presented with a bracelet engraved with her father’s name and a personal inscription during a ceremony at the Residence of France in Houston hosted by the Consul General of France, Frank Marchetti.
The presentation marked Armistice Day and was a tribute to the service of sailor John Joseph Sheehan and a gesture symbolizing Franco-American friendly relations, according to a news release from the Consulate General of France in Houston.
The bracelet — which was engraved with Sheehan’s name, service number, blood type and the inscription, “Your wife Helen 1945” — had been found in Le Havre in 1946 by a local resident, Henrietta Blanc. She held onto the bracelet for safe-keeping for decades after multiple attempts to locate its owner were unsuccessful, according to the release…