The two married and had three children: sons Yannick and Steve and daughter Deborah.Īfter his retirement, Bellefontaine became an electronic communications engineer in the Army Civil Service, with his education being provided for under the G.I. Bellefontaine and his friend offered to take the two women to their destination. Bellefontaine and a friend were driving down a road when they noticed two women: Henriette and a friend, who had missed a train they intended to catch. It’s not like my choice really.’ But I said, ‘Well, Dad, you know, you sacrificed a lot for the rest of us here.’”Īfter the war, while still stationed in France, John Bellefontaine met his first wife, Henriette, a native of France. “But at first when I talked to him about wanting to be honored now he said, because he was humble, ‘I don’t know why they want to honor me. “He was proud of what he accomplished,” Yannick said. His eldest son and child, Yannick Bellefontaine, says his father didn’t like to talk about his service at first. (Courtesy of Deborah Fike)īellefontaine was waiting to receive the Legion of Honor medal from France when he passed. The decorated veteran fought in the Battle of the Bulge as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division. Medals awarded to John Bellefontaine for his military service. He received numerous accolades, including the Bronze Star of Valor and the Presidential Unit Citation, the latter of which was awarded to all members of the 551st in 2001. I said, ‘Dad, five minutes, give me.’ He wouldn’t wait five minutes. He wouldn’t wait for me to take the trash out. So being a Chief Warrant Officer, he likes to tell us all orders. “Like he’s used to ordering everybody around. “He was very gentle, but he was very much a bossy person,” Fike said. John remained in the Army, serving a total of 20 years, ultimately achieving the rank of Chief Warrant Officer. In early 1945, the remaining members of the 551st were absorbed into the 82nd Airborne Division. The 551st were sent to capture the German-held Belgian village of Rochelinval without any support, a mission they successfully completed at the cost of most of the unit’s remaining lives.Īlthough Bellefontaine was one of the lucky men to survive the battle, he suffered lifelong health complications to his feet due to the deep snow, resulting in him developing gangrene toward the end of his life. In December, Bellefontaine would become embroiled in the bloodiest battle the United States was involved in during the war – the Battle of the Bulge, Germany’s desperate last-ditch surprise counteroffensive through the Ardennes Forest between Belgium and Luxembourg meant to stave off defeat on the Western Front. Due to his upbringing in Montreal, French was Bellefontaine’s first language, and so he was made a translator for American forces while in France and Belgium. Martin Comas of the Sentinel staff contributed.That August, the 551st participated in Operation Dragoon, the Allied landing in southeastern France, eventually liberating the city of Nice. Because the first time it takes off and you look up and nobody’s driving, it’s kind of a weird feeling.” “If you’ve never ridden in an autonomous vehicle: try it. “Beep has been a great addition to the Lake Nona area,” he said. to 2 p.m., while the remaining times will have one bus.īefore voting on the agreement, Commissioner Jim Gray, who represents the Lake Nona area, said he was excited to see Beep expand in the city, and said the company had succeeded in his district. On Monday through Friday, two buses are planned to run from 10 a.m. Plans call for the buses to run from 10 a.m. The city also expects to look for grant funding to expand autonomous buses into other neighborhoods, such as Ivanhoe Village, SODO or elsewhere. The route passes by the ACE school just west of Creative Village, the downtown UCF and Valencia campuses and Luminary Green, as well as Lynx Central Station.Ĭity officials are preparing traffic signal timing to accommodate the buses and planning a brand for the autonomous shuttles. “For people to have the opportunity to ride this as school starts is pretty cool.” … The integration of bringing these vehicles to the urban core is super exciting,” she said. “This is a big opportunity for people to understand how Orlando is cutting edge. The electric vehicles are slow-moving – one goes about 12 mph, and the other about 18 mph – but are an opportunity to showcase Orlando as “cutting edge” to college students at the Creative Village campus, younger students attending the Academic Center for Excellence in Parramore, as well as other commuters. The downtown Orlando route will be serviced by two buses, one that holds eight passengers and one that holds 10, Wilder said. Officials said the project is part of an effort by the Seminole County city, with a population of just over 46,000, to increase ways for residents to get around without having to use their cars.
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