Late war veteran goes out ‘with a bang’

An American war veteran, who travelled to Malta aged 95 and later donated his uniform to be displayed at the war museum, had one last surprise up his sleeve. The late Herb Tollefson first spoke to this newspaper in 2013 while looking for wartime friends on the island. He served in Malta in World War II to repair aircraft. Through an appeal in the Times of Malta, he had met the son of his friend and late police sergeant, John Mifsud, and relatives of the Borg family who used to serve food at the Melita Bar at the Ferries, in Sliema. WATCH: A tiny picture that told a story after 70 long years When he returned a year later to donate his uniform – the first of the sort for the national collection – Heritage Malta conservators were in for a surprise. A small photograph of the American soldier’s sweetheart and future wife had survived seven decades and was still in his visor’s cap. It so happened that one of the first people to learn about the discovery was Queen Elizabeth herself when visiting Heritage Malta’s conservation division at Bighi during her trip in 2015. Mr Tollefson, 98, passed away less than two years later, February 28 of this year, at his home in Tacoma,...