A welcome return visit to Halesworth
For John Lamar and family
John Lamar – Upper Turret Gunner (845th & 847th – Frank Bodine crew)
489th veteran John Lamar with sister Barbara and Corky McGee in the 489th Museum - May 2008
The Lamars arrived in Halesworth on 20th May 2008 to stay the week at the Angel Hotel in the centre of town. ‘The Angel’ is a 16th Century coaching inn and the Lamars have stayed there many times. The family visited the 489th Museum (Hardwick), where they were pleased to see David Woodrow (a Normandy veteran) who owns the farm where the museum stands.
489th Veteran John Lamar with Normandy Veteran David Woodrow share a joke with Pam Wilby - May 2008
The day of the visit was David’s 84th birthday and as it had been John’s 84th birthday two months before we had cake to celebrate. That evening 22 friends attended a dinner at the Angel Hotel, hosted by the Lamars and the McGees – a lovely evening and a chance for everyone to get together.
Following a visit to the Memorial site on Holton Airfield, friends took them on a tour of Suffolk, including the pretty village of Lavenham and to Woodbridge. They visited Norfolk too where some of them paddled in the cold North Sea! The Lamars were able to revisit the friendships made over the years with friends from the Halesworth area and in Norfolk. A visit to Southwold was very breezy, and they looked at the 489th plaque on the Pier.
489th Veteran John Lamar salutes the flag during the Memorial Day Service - 2008
Their final day, Monday 26 May, was Memorial Day when they travelled to Madingley for the Service.
489th Veteran John Lamar with his wife Pat, and family members Corky and Barbara McGee, pictured with Friends of the 489th - May 2008
It was a very wet day but John laid the wreath, on behalf of the Friends of the 489th, beside the Wall of the Missing and they attended the Reception laid on by the organisers. It was great to see John and family again.