D-Day 60th Anniversary

2004 was the 60th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France.

I was honored to share this trip with two American heroes--Alice and Bill! Alice and Bill are from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Alice served in the WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Services) during the war and described her work in Washington, D. C., typing codes and the secrecy surrounding what she did. She said that none of the ladies knew the significance of the codes they were typing and she came to realize just how dedicated all the women were who served with her. For Alice, the trip in 2004 was a first to Normandy's Omaha Beach.

Bill landed with the 29th Division at Omaha Beach on June 6th, 1944. For Bill, who had been a cook in the army, it had been sixty years since he had first stepped onto Omaha Beach. He said that the highlight of his stay in Normandy in 1944 was twice getting to prepare a meal for General Eisenhower. He was also thankful that he made it home without any problems.

The ceremonies at the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach were memorable and Presidents George W. Bush and Jacques Chirac stood side-by-side during the events.

Our hero Bill had the pleasure to meet Tom Hanks. Tom was enthralled with the story of our Veteran's story and thrilled and honored to meet a true American hero.

In the afternoon of June 6, 2004, on the way into a café at Isigny-sur-Mer, a young French man asked one of the individuals in our group if he could speak to the Veteran. Of course, this was encouraged. The young man asked Bill to please sign his poster (one depicting the Liberation of Paris in August of 1944). After our Hero Bill had signed the poster, the young man shook Bill's hand and in his broken English said "I would like to thank you, Sir, for what you did for my country and for the French people!"

It was heart-warming to listen and watch as Veterans who had served their country on D-Day so many years ago were meeting one another for the first time. The camaraderie was instant as they shared a connection which the rest of us could only imagine.

Bill received a medal from the mayor of Colleville-sur-Mer,where the first US Infantry Division came ashore on D-Day on a part of Omaha Beach known on the operation maps as Fox Green and Fox Red. The town and its citizens are forever indebted to the Americans who gave all that day and the mayor of Colleville, Monsieur Thomines, honored our hero Bill and his heroine wife Alice with special commemorative medals.

We thank all Veterans from the Allied Countries who landed on Omaha, Utah, Sword, Gold, and Juno Beaches on June 6, 1944, and who sacrificed so much for freedom, the noblest of causes. May God bless you.

Sue Lillie

sue@aparistravel.com
À Paris Travel, "The Best Way to See France"
http://www.aparistravel.com/
Telephone: 1-866-844-7167 (toll free)
360-752-6591 (State of Washington)
Fax: 425-671-0359