Peggy Harris, a woman from Vernon, Texas, married her husband Billie back in the 1940s. They were only married for six weeks when Billie was deployed by the United States to fight in World War II.
Lt. Billie Harris left for a Nazi-occupied Norther France on July 17, 1944, and Peggie never heard from her husband again.
It took 68 years for Peggy to find out the fate of her husband. Originally, she thought Billie was killed in action. Then, she was told that her husband was alive and coming home. Later on, she was once again told that her husband had died. The confusion over her husband’s status was an immense weight on Peggy’s heart, but as time wore on, she began to believe more and more that her husband had died during the war.
Advertisement
Because of the confusion and communication errors, Peggy wrote to congressmen, hoping to get a confirmed word on her husband’s status. She was finally told that Billie was marked MIA (missing in action).
Taking matters into her own hand, Peggy worked with her cousin, Alton Harvey, and the two began a private investigation. Through their own digging, they discovered that Billie was actually buried in the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Normandy, France. It took 68 years for Peggy to finally learn her husband’s fate. He died a celebrated hero.
Watch the video below to learn more about Peggy’s undying love for her husband. She makes an annual visit to the cemetery to honor her husband!
Please SHARE this amazing story with your friends on Facebook.
Anders said that he began seeing pennies as a reminder to stop and say a prayer.
Advertisement
“If I would see a penny when I’m gassing up, on the ground, or in a store, it would be a reminder to stop right there and say a prayer,” Anders said to ABC News. “I never failed to do that. That’s why they had so much value to me.”
At no point during all of his penny-collecting did Anders accept coins as a gift from anyone else.
Advertisement
“But I never allowed anyone, not even my wife nor children, to give me pennies without being compensated,” he continued. “I wanted the inner satisfaction that God and I acquired this collection.”
“I became convinced that spotting a lost or dropped penny was an additional God-given incentive reminding me to always be thankful. There have been days where I failed to pray and more often than not, a lost or dropped penny would show up to remind me.”
Anders filled big water jugs with the coins he collected.
He said at one point his goal was to fill up 5 giant water jugs but once he had done that, he felt the urge to keep going.
He needed to go to the bank and turn them in or else he’d never do it.
At the time he finally went to the bank, he had filled 15 5-gallon jugs.
“I wanted to fill five five-gallon water jugs. That was the goal, but I couldn’t stop. … If I hadn’t turned them in yesterday, I was not going to stop.”
In addition to the intrinsic value Anders found in collecting the pennies, they also added up to have significant financial value.
After finding out his homeowner’s insurance policy wouldn’t cover his collection, he called the Origin Bank in Ruston, Louisiana, where he had been a customer for years.
Anders let them know he would be coming in with a large number of pennies.
They were happy to help but it was quite the undertaking.
“We value his business, as we do all of our customers,” said the bank’s Vice President Jennie Cole. “But if we can help Anders with his endeavors, we are happy to do so.”
