Ronald Brown always told his grandchildren not to sit on his “bad knee” when they visited the World War II vet. But it wasn’t until after the 94-year-old’s death last week that his family found out what “bad” meant. Brown, who stepped on a land mine in France in 1944, lived almost 60 years with 6 ounces of bomb shrapnel embedded in his lower body. The discovery was made after Brown was cremated and his family was presented with the “macabre” metal pieces. “We are all very proud of him and what he did for all of us,” granddaughter Holly Madden said. “I suppose it’s a bittersweet memory … because it symbolizes everything he did and how he suffered.” [Source]
MrMary Weighs In
I did a story recently about a man who had a dildo lodged inside him for 5 days. I proceeded to make silly little jokes. I thought I would present a war hero with shrapnel lodged inside him for 60 years as a compensation for my immaturity. I am not a fan of war, but I have a special respect for soldiers in particularly WW2 soldiers.
My grandfather was a tough dude he didn’t fight any wars but his message was his life. The love of his life died leaving him alone to raise 6 kids. Three children had died before his wife did. He went to work in a far away village where we could find work send them money did he best to raise everyone. But he was a very stern man. He worked at a car factory and was accidentally set on fire and spent a year recovering. He worked another job and was electrocuted and spent another year convalescing, and there are some similarly painful and harsh things he went through. I think Pere Michel’s (my grandfather) life inspired me. I only got to spend 4 summers with him in Canada he left and indelible mark on my life.
So to Ronald Brown and all those like him who have gone
RIP
Related articles
- Ronald Brown: Shrapnel Found In Cremated Remains Of World War II War Hero (huffingtonpost.com)
- WW2 Veteran Had All This Shrapnel In His Knee (gizmodo.co.uk)
- Cremated Remains of WWII Veteran Reveals a Pile of Shrapnel From Landmine (medicaldaily.com)
- WW2 Veteran Had All This Shrapnel In His Knee (gizmodo.com)
- Hero had 6oz of shrapnel in leg (bbc.co.uk)
- Weighty memento: war veteran’s secret revealed after his death (telegraph.co.uk)
- War hero’s cremation leaves huge pile of shrapnel (telegraph.co.uk)
- Shrapnel Pile Found in WWII Vet’s Remains (abcnews.go.com)
- Ronald Brown: War veteran walked around with this shrapnel embedded in his thigh… for 68 years! (thisismoney.co.uk)
