Here is a picture of my grandfather taken in Binche (Belgium) in 1940. He's the one sitting on the front bumper of this 1939 Buick Special, with two of his friends behind. He was 19 at the time, and they had just been called to join the Belgian army, as dark clouds were quickly approaching.

The 1939 Buick Special was owned by a local wealthy taylor in Binche, which was at the time a thriving city specialized in clothes manufacturing. At the time, an American car was quite rare and a sure sign of wealthiness.

The Belgian army was defeated in 18 days, and my grandfather and his comrades fled to southern France. He almost went to England to continue the fight, but happened to be less than 30 miles from his fiancée, my future grandmother. So they went back together in Belgium, and went through the war unarmed, although he was regularly sought by the Germans to go and work in Germany. View full size.