You sort of live in fear all the time.
So you're always afraid - what are they gonna do?
Maybe they're ok - they leave us alone.
Or they put us in the trunk and you're gone.
You cannot even tell your family you're gone.
Yeah, it's a world of fear.
In late 1939, all of western Europe watched as their neighbors to the east crumbled
one by one under the fury of the German army.
The remaining free countries knew it was only a matter of time
before they too would face the destruction of Blitzkrieg, Hitler's "Lightening War".
As a five year old girl growing up in Robertville, Belgium
Nelly Thirifays - know to her family as Michette
- couldn't fully understand why her parents were sending their children
to live with their aunt, far away from the Belgian-German border.
My parents knew that the Germans, sooner or later, were going to invade.
And they knew they could not - I was five years old - they could not escape with me.
They had to move us to my aunt who lived in Charleroi.
I was going with my siblings, I was missing my parents.
That's all I knew.
Where is Mama?
You know.
Children don't understand.
Working as school teachers, Michette's parents were required to stay put
until the moment the Germans crossed the Belgian border.
Once Belgium was under siege, they set out on a six week journey, on foot,
hoping to reach their children and the relative safety of Charleroi.
So they walk for six weeks.
And the main road was bombarded as the Germans were coming in.
And they had to hide.
So my aunt thought that my parents were dead.
One day, by miracle, suddenly they showed up at the door.
So, you know, everybody was in shock and happy, and...
They made it, but it was not easy.
I can not quite imagine what they went through.
The family was fortunate to be reunited, but Charleroi would not remain a safe haven for long.
The Wehrmacht swept across the nation until May of 1940 when the Belgian army was forced to surrender.
Michette and her family were now living under Nazi occupation.
And each long year was harder and more terrifying than the last.
Some children, really were starving, you know.
They didn't have enough food.
Nobody was fat in those days, I tell you.
You see them in the street - they were everywhere.
As young as we were, we knew they were the enemy.
So you're always afraid - what are they gonna do?
Maybe they're ok - they leave us alone.
Or they put us in the trunk and you're gone.
You cannot even tell your family you're gone.
Yeah, it's a world of fear.
The fears of the Belgian people were justified when they began to hear rumors of the fate
that awaited many of those that were taken away, never to be seen again.
Many died there.
Yeah, it was a horrific affair.
That's why we were so afraid, you know - to be taken.
After more than four years of living under the boot of Hitler's Third Reich,
liberation finally came to Europe.
Well, the liberation was the best day of our lives -
when the G.I. came, you know.
Just to be liberated - that was really something.
You couldn't believe the joy.
The streets that had so recently been occupied by the feared German army
were now filled with American soldiers -
battle worn, exhausted, but friendly.
I remember the G.I. occupying our school.
They had to stay somewhere.
And they were trying to meet families.
So you could go there and sort of pick up a G.I. if you wanted to if you see a guy you like.
And we would ask, "Do you have a family to visit?"
"No."
"Well, then you could come to our house."
You know.
I would sort of recruit, as little as I was.
Looking for a way to show her gratitude to her newfound heroes,
Michette took to the streets and found three American G.I.'s hoping for a place to find some rest.
So I said, "I'll go and ask my mom."
You know.
So I went to ask my mom.
And she asked me how many and I said three.
And she said, "Ok.
They can come."
But when Michette returned to the same street corner, word of her hospitable invitation
had gotten around.
There were now seven G.I.'s eagerly awaiting the chance for a welcome into her home.
So I went back to the house and asked my mother.
All she said was, "It's ok.
Have them all come in."
Night after night, Michette's family would welcome groups of American soldiers into their home.
They would come in the evening to visit us.
And they would bring us, like, candy bars - that type of a thing.
They had pleasure in doing that, you know.
Especially for the children.
They were missing their family, that's what it was.
They wanted to have that family atmosphere.
To Michette, these men were not just heroes.
Many of them were like her adopted older brothers.
Especially men like Adam, Jimmy, and Blair.
We hear a big noise during the night.
Because he was a big guy.
He cracked the bed and fell and that made a big noise in the house.
We figured, well maybe a bomb fell on the house, you know.
That was so funny.
But her newfound brothers could not stay forever.
And sadly, some of them would not survive the war, including Blair.
Because eventually, they had to leave Belgium and advance into Germany.
And then that's where they - that had quite a few casualties there.
Well, the Battle of the Bulge and the Ardennes - you know, had terrible battles there.
In Belgium - a lot of American soldiers died there.
They built a beautiful cemetery near Verviers where hundreds of G.I. are buried.
The Henry Chapelle Cemetery and Memorial is one of two Belgian-based American cemeteries
and the resting place of nearly 8,000 American soldiers who fought and died on Belgian soil.
I just love them for what they've done.
American families lost their children.
You should see that cemetery there.
If you ever go to Europe, go.
Go to Belgium and see that.
It's really - you won't forget it.
Michette will never forget the men who brought happiness and freedom back into her world.
All of them were her heroes, and some of them - family.
To this day, she carries a notebook filled with letters from the American G.I.'s
expressing their gratitude towards Michette for her hospitality and friendship.
"To my little Belgian friend,
and many thanks for the pleasant evening that we have spent with you and your family."
"Dear little Nelly, many thanks to a charming little lady
for many a happy evenings during our brief stay in Vervier.
Always I will remember your energy, spirit and love."
"To Nelly, the most gracious lady in all Belgium,
whose charm and happiness have made a home for all of us
and have endeared her forever within the deepest confines of our hearts."