Tiffin couple searches for grave of Fostoria man who died during Normandy Invasion

By Sheri Trusty, Seneca County Media Relations Coordinator

When Reggie and Sharon Scifers of Tiffin traveled overseas on a history tour, they took with them their suitcases, their passports and a promise to bring back something special for their friend, Sara Wax. Wax didn’t want a t-shirt or a trinket. She wanted information about her uncle, who died during the Normandy Invasion of World War II.

Reggie and Sharon presented Wax with a packet of information about her uncle during the Seneca County Honor Bus welcome home ceremony at the Seneca County Fairgrounds on Oct. 27.

Wax’s uncle, John R. Sertell of Fostoria, died on the shores of Normandy during the D-Day operation of June 6, 1944. Sertell, who was 36 when he died, was one of over 4,000 Allied troops who died on a Normandy beach that day.

“He was my dad’s first cousin,” Wax said. “My dad was one of five boys, and all five boys served in World War II. All five survived the war, but my uncle died on a Normandy beach. I always heard stories about him from my grandmother.”

Sertell was buried in the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France. When Wax learned the Sciferses planned to visit Normandy, she asked them to find her uncle’s grave.

“I knew my uncle was buried over there,” Wax said. “Reggie is a go-getter. I knew he could find him.”

When the Sciferses and their tour group reached the cemetery, they asked for help finding Sertell’s gravesite. They were overwhelmed by the kind response from the cemetery staff.

“The superintendent of the cemetery met us,” Reggie said. “We were picked up in a golf cart, and they took us to his grave.”

The cemetery staff spent a lot of time with Reggie and Sharon, and before they left, staff members printed off a packet of information about Sertell for Wax.

“This made our trip even more special,” Sharon said. “Everyone in our group said the same thing.”

The Sciferses presented Wax with the packet of information and a framed photo of Sertell’s grave at the Honor Bus ceremony. Wax was overwhelmed by the generosity of the Sciferses and by the benevolence of strangers from across the ocean, whose attention to her request honored her uncle, who lost his life in their land.

“Reggie and Sharon were so kind to get this information for me,” Wax said. “I’ll share it with my family.”