Hat’s what pals are for.. 70 years on
A US veteran wants to trace a UK pilot pal he met nearly 70 years ago – so he can return his RAF cap.
Byron Nilsson, now 89, was on USS Missouri in 1949 and buddied up with Ted Cooper when the ship visited Portsmouth.
He was invited for dinner with Ted, his wife and daughter, aged three, and Byron was intrigued by his host’s RAF cap – so they swapped hats.
They lost contact with each other in 1950.
Byron, who lives in Liverpool, New York State, said: “I recently found the hat and wanted to return this important piece of family memorabilia.”
He said he wanted to give the hat back to Ted – who flew Spitfires in the Second World War – or members of his family.