US Army ‘returns’ birthday cake soldiers took from Italian woman in 1945

Seventy-seven years after US soldiers ate an Italian woman’s birthday cake as they arrived in her hometown during World War II has been returned.

According to the U.S. Army, they presented Meri Mion, who turns 90 on Friday, with a replacement cake at a ceremony in Vicenza after the one her mother made for her on her 13th birthday was taken by troops in April 1945.

The night before her birthday, Mion and her mother spent the night hiding in the attic of their farm, which was located in San Pietro in Gù, as Germans retreating fired shots near her house, the U.S. Army said.

The next morning was her 13th birthday, her mother baked her a cake and placed it on the window sill to cool.

But nearby American soldiers took it at some point from the window sill and it was never seen again.

On Friday, Mion cried happy tears as soldiers from U.S. Army Garrison presented her with a replacement cake as everyone sang her “Happy Birthday.”

“Tomorrow we will eat that dessert with all my family remembering this wonderful day that I will never forget,” Mion said.