"Everyone knows the more you wear pearls, little by little they become real....And isn't it the same with memories?" - The Madwoman of Chaillot

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Dad in France during WW II

Kevin started digging up information about our dad during WWII - since we will be in France and going to see the Normandy Beaches. Once he told me the dates that Dad's squadron was there, I went and found my aunt's old scrapbooks made from things Dad sent home and look for those dates.  One fun thing we located was a story that we had heard from him - repeated here. We are staying in the Montmartre district so thought I'd look up where this bar was. Turns out to be 2/10 of a mile from our apartment there! Different name but I think we'll definitely visit it.



According to the scrapbook - their time in France
July 11 - arrived at Omaha Beach 
then to Caen - Le Molay Field - 10 miles from the front
Aug 31 - to Versailles via St Lo, Fleur, Argentan, Dreux - 5 days after the armed forces came through

We will be visiting Omaha Beach but probably will not have free time to see Caen or anything else in the area. But we'll feel Dad there with us....24 yr old Dad! Neither Bill nor I nor any of our siblings, none of our kids, nieces or nephews have had to do anything like he did - being drafted from college and spending 5 years in training and at war.

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