THILL, Marcel

In 1951, Marcel was called up for military service. He put his technical skills to good use and worked as a mechanic, notably on the Willys Jeep.

Having missed the opportunity to join the first contingent in 1950 because of his apprenticeship, he immediately volunteered for the second contingent in 1952. While overseas, Marcel received the rank of a Soldat de 1re Classe for his battlefield merits. After his enlistment, he was recalled by the Army and was assigned to the “Service de Matériel” in Capellen. As he was particularly concerned with military equipment and vehicles, he liked to “test” them from Capellen to the Belgian border. It was not always for professional reasons that he made these trips, but rather the bars of the Belgian-Luxembourg border.

His military service ended in 1958, but Marcel had no idea how to find work. He had heard that the Coca-Cola Company was going to be established in Luxembourg.

As he had passed all the Army driving licences, including the one for trucks, he was hired as a truck driver for Coca-Cola Luxembourg. It was also during this period that he met his future wife. Later, after his marriage and the birth of his son, Marcel started working in the steel industry in Differdange (Société Hadir) until his retirement.

Marcel always kept good relations with his former comrades and returned twice to Korea for the war commemorations.