Скачать или смотреть Pendleton Co. woman searching for family of WWII soldier after finding medals, memories

FALMOUTH, KY (WKRC) - A Pendleton County woman is on a mission to salvage the legacy of a WWII soldier.

Kathy Colvin discovered memorabilia belonging to Sgt. Ballard J. Bentley while clearing out a home near Falmouth. She was shocked to see how the mementos had been left among trash. "It made me emotional because I felt like it had been disgraced; not just the item disgraced because that's just material, but the person," says Colvin.

She's been researching Bentley in hopes of connecting with someone in his family. She knows he was born in Neon, Kentucky and died in Germany in 1945 during WWII. She's learned a lot about the man he was from letters he sent home. In one of them, he tells his parents that he's sending them money to help pay for Christmas gifts for his young siblings. "He's just a very caring, giving--100 percent everything he had. Not just monetarily, but of course his life," says Colvin. She feels a real connection to the soldier after having spent so much time researching him and looking through his memorabilia.

Colvin would like to track down someone in Bentley's family to see if they sincerely want the items. If not, she's hopeful a museum would take the items and put them on display. She just wants to make sure he's given the honor he deserves. "He was not a taker, he was a giver, and to me, just a true American," says Colvin.