He Backpedals 48 Years to Make Amends
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POLEBROOK, England — A former U.S. airman, moved by gratitude and guilt, has given 93 bicycles to the children of this town to repay a 48-year-old debt.
Roger Johnson was an Army lieutenant in 1944 when he borrowed a bicycle in Polebrook to get back to his base at a nearby airfield, where he was stationed briefly during World War II.
The war intervened, and the bike was never returned.
To make amends, he has spent $18,000 on bikes for the children of Polebrook, 45 miles north of London.
“For almost 50 years I’ve regretted taking that bike,” Johnson, 68, said as he presented the bicycles on Saturday.
“It’s only now that I’ve been able to come up with a plan that will ease my conscience and even the score.”
Johnson is now a doctor in Irving, Tex.
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