Soldier Who Lost His Wallet In WWII Has It Returned To Him 70 Years Later

• Eligio Ramos sees his wallet for the first time in 70 years

A man who lost his wallet while fighting in WWII 70 years ago has had it returned to him.
Eligio Ramos, 91, has already had a pretty amazing life, but even he couldn’t have thought this was possible.

As a young man the American fought through western Europe in a field artillery unit, and even liberated concentration camp prisoners. While his battalion was staying in an Austrian farmhouse belonging to a man named Ruckhofer in 1945, Ramos hid his wallet under one of the floorboards.

Eligio Ramos (far right) and his unit during WWII

However when his unit left the next day Ramos forgot to retrieve his wallet, which was full of family photos and other sentimental items. 70 years later, while Ramos was having breakfast with his daughter, Sylvia Gonzalez, 72, they received a letter from Ruckhofer’s grandson, Dr Josef Ruckhofer, who had inherited the farm.

Upon removing the floor planks in the farmhouse he had found Ramos’ wallet, and using his military ID numbers had tracked him down in the hopes of returning the wallet to him.

Dr Josef Ruckhofer’s letter to Eligio Ramos

The wallet that was lost for 70 years

Sylvia told ABC News: ‘I was having breakfast at home with my dad like our usual routine three days out of the week, and I was reading through the mail when I stumbled upon the letter.
‘I said, “Dad! Look! Somebody found your wallet you lost in 1945 in Austria”.’

For the first time in 70 years Ramos, who now resides in a VA hostpial in Fresno, California, was able to feel the battered leather of his long-lost wallet.
His large family marvelled at the faded photos kept safe throughout the years, which they now say they will cherish for many generations.

Source: Metro UK