…father, James McCartney, who had served in the war effort as a volunteer firefighter in Liverpool.
As the story goes, Mr. Harold had kept the map tucked inside an old footlocker since 1944. It had guided him and his unit through occupied France. The signature, faded but legible, read: “J. McCartney – Liverpool Fire Brigade, with hope for peace.”
When Paul received the FaceTime call from Paris, he was visibly moved. “That’s my dad’s handwriting,” he said, eyes welling. He had never seen his father’s wartime signature before — let alone on a map that had traveled through history.
At the 103rd birthday celebration in Normandy, Paul attended quietly, no press, no entourage. Mr. Harold raised a glass and said, “You gave me the gift of love. Now I return the gift of memory.”
Paul framed the map and placed it in his studio beside his father’s photo. “Sometimes the past sings back to you,” he later said.
And that, he admitted, was the most meaningful birthday gift he’d ever r
eceived.
