The Foreign Service Journal, January 2009

World War II. Genuine memorabilia was quite valuable and traded among war re-enactors like Yves and his friends, so he was interested even in a box full of odd parts and nonworking watches the watchmaker kept under the counter. As he sifted through the box, a par- ticular watch caught his eye. It was a simple U.S. Air Force timepiece, the kind given to air crew and support personnel (pilots usually had fancier ones), dated 1943. It had received some kind of shock and stopped run- ning but was still in fairly good shape. The watchmaker told Yves it had been given to him by his father, who had gotten it decades ago from a man who had brought it in for repair, and left it when he found it couldn’t be fixed. The man had said the watch was from the body of an American aviator, and locals had taken it before the Ger- mans arrived at a crash site near the town. Yves realized that it must be re- lated to the Black Swan , because no other U.S. plane had crashed in the area. Moreover, the watch had stop- ped at just after 3:20 p.m., the precise time the plane was attacked and shot down by German aircraft. He tried to J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 9 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 51 Each of us was thinking our own thoughts about the day, the sacrifice of the men in the cemetery, and the acts of kindness and respect shown to them by the local population. A time of service…a time of need Help for Seniors May Be Just a Phone Call Away— Home Health Care Adult Day Care & Respite Care Prescription Drug Copayments Transportation to Medical Appointments Durable Medical Equipment For more information, please contact the SENIOR LIVING FOUNDATION OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE 1716 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20036-2902 Phone: (202) 887-8170 Fax: (202) 872-9320 E-Mail: info@SLFoundation.org Web Site: www.SLFoundation.org The Senior Living Foundation may be able to help you or someone you know. Some examples of assistance are: SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION