A Seton Hall senior was featured on CBS' evening news segment "On the Road" on Jan. 18 for her unusual friendship.
History major Allison Eyres was highlighted for recovering stolen war medals for her friend and coworker, Jack Morris, a veteran of World War II. Her story was discovered online with the help of the IPhone app, "Backspaces" until it was eventually picked up by CBS from the website Reddit.
According to Eyres, she initially wrote the story about Morris and the war medals on Backspaces in a story called "My hero" when one of the co-creators picked it up and shared it on Reddit.
"Our veterans are our most valuable resources for first-hand experiences of history," Eyres said.
Eyres said she first befriended WWII veteran Morris at work.
In Matawan, N.J., she said she began to talk to Morris about his experiences in the war, creating a strong bond while fueling her passion for history.
Eryes' interest in history began at a young age.
"My dad was always into history," she said. "We would go to museums and watch shows."
Eyres said one day Morris' house was broken into and the war medals he received in World War II were among some of the possessions that were stolen.
The article said there were symbols of valuable history and memories from the war.
Eyres, with her friendship and knowledge built up from days of shared war stories, said she decided she would recover the medals.
"Every day I'd sit with him and have him tell me different stories," Eyres said. "I'd say, 'tell me about the medals you received.'"
Eyres said the medals she helped to recover and the experiences that Morris and her shared together attracted the attention of CBS.
"On the Road" featured interviews with both Eyres and Morris, emphasizing the importance of the insight World War II veterans have to offer.
"[Morris] thought being on CBS was the most amazing thing," Eyres said. "He tells every single customer that walks into his office; he tells everyone that they can look up the story on the "machine" or computer."
Mary Marshall can be reached at mary.marshall@student.shu.edu.
