“Six months ago we started a project to combine the history of the 88th and 91st Infantry Divisions, which took part in the battle for Vicenza,” Rick Scaveta, a U.S. military spokesman in Italy, told the Telegraph. “It was a bit lost because it was not a huge battle like Anzio or Salerno and it took place just 10 days before the end of the war. “We invited Mary to visit her because she was a war survivor. She introduced herself to the commander of the guard, Colonel Matthew Gomlak, and began to talk about her experiences, including the story of the cake. “It was then that he thought of doing something nice and presenting her with a cake.” Mrs. Mion lived on a farm in the village of San Pietro in Gu, near Vicenza, and it is narrated how she and her mother hid in their attic as the Germans retreated and fired. When she woke up the next day, it was her birthday and American forces were entering the village. “Her happiness turned to disappointment later, when the resourceful American soldiers left with her birthday cake,” said Colonel Gomlak. The hope now is that an elderly US soldier can see the story and emerge as the cake thief – even though he was in his nineties. “We are keeping our fingers crossed,” Mr Scavetta said.
