Diane Covington-Carter’s memoir, Finding Gilbert, a Promise Fulfilled, recently won a Gold award at the Society of American Travel Writer’s Western Chapter meeting in Tucson Arizona. The faculty at the University of Missouri School of Journalism wrote:
“This is a gripping travel memoir of how childhood stories of World War II turn into a quest. A lot of travel is driven by the quest for answers–and this book fulfills that desire to find the truth in faraway places. This piece about a father’s love and
fulfilling a promise to a French war orphan is well done, and a recommended read.” Click here to order.
On June 6, 1944, 1,213 warships (battleships, destroyers …), 736 support ships, 864 freighters and 4,126 boats and barges land 20,000 vehicles and 156,000 men on the beaches of Normandy.
Le 6 juin 1944, 1 213 bateaux de guerre (cuirassés, destroyers…), 736 navires de soutien, 864 cargos et 4 126 engins et péniches débarquent 20 000 véhicules et 156 000 hommes sur les plages de Normandie. (Text via Wikipedia… the 'merci' you hear at the end is from Jean-Marc)
Click here to listen to today's example sentence
IN MEMORY
So many of you have stories to share about family members who braved the shores of Normandy on this unforgettable day in history; June 6th, 1944. The comments box is open, now, for anything you might want to share–in honor of those who have sacrificed their lives for others.
Mille mercis to Diane Covington-Carter (pictured right, with Gilbert's family), for sponsoring today's post. Be sure to check out Diane's memoirs on France, including the hightly enjoyable Eight Months in Provence.
Covington-Carter, an award-winning journalist, has attended the 50 th , 60 th and 70 th anniversaries of D-Day. She will be in France for the 75 th anniversary and will be writing many stories for magazines and newspapers. Finding Gilbert, a Promise Fulfilled is her third memoir, and you can read more about it here.
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One should make a point of visiting the beaches, the cemetery and the museum in Normandy. It will be one of the most transforming and moving experiences of your life. You will be changed.
There were many men who were hero’s. Unfortunately we seldom hear of the women who risked their lives.
Women like Sonya d’Artois who parachuted , under cover of darkness, into France and helped the Resistance movement in so many ways and managed , despite several close calls, was never caught.
Kristin,
My father’s brother, Charles Rich, was an Army Ranger at Pont du Hoc . He gave his life there on the beach on D-Day. He was only 20 years old. He is buried in the American Cemetary in Normandy and many of our family members (my daughters included) have made the trip to place flowers on his grave. The story of his life (and death) is the stuff of legend in my family and we have and will continue to keep his memory alive through the generations. One of the most amazing things is the sincere gratitude that our family is greeted with whenever we share this story with French aquaintances and friends. It is so touching and heartfelt. Let us never forget the brave men and women who lost their lives in that horrendous battle.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/sonya-d-artois-secret-agent-second-world-war-1.5160124
When I was a French teacher I took my students to Normandy to the American cemetery. I asked them to write down the names and dates on three of the graves to make them realize that many of these young people were just a few years older than them. I believe it was one of the most important lessons of our trip.
Thank you, Nancy, for sharing about your uncle, Charles Rich, and for mentioning the women who risked their lives. (I see Jerry has left a comment, too. Thanks, Jerry for the link!)
What do you mean by “4,126 gears”? “Un engin” doesn’t mean “a gear,” does it? I’ve never seen the term “gear” used in connection with anything naval. Do you mean “engin” in the sense of vehicle? Like, maybe, a tank or another large piece of military equipment?
Fascinating, what a brave and beautiful woman!
Thank you Kristi for your love and thoughtfulness. I’ve been reflecting on my beloved father, who died on June 6, 1967, an appropriate day for a brave soldier. He was a pilot in WWI (in France of course), and much later after a law career, he signed up for WWII “because they needed officers” (mostly Italy and North Africa). Like many, he was brave and noble. Time to reflect on my love and appreciation of him.
Our dear Kristi,
A favorite quote of mine is by Benjamin Franklin:
“There never was a bad peace or a good war”.
My dear dad,Thomas Grandin,made the first radio broadcast from the Normandy beachhead invasion,and sustained lifelong injuries while doing so.
He would be nodding his head in agreement of these words.
Thank you,Kristi for this very moving post today.
Love
Natalia Xo
Chère Natalia, Thank you for sharing about your Father, and for the quote by Benjamin Franklin. 💕
Thank you, Valerie, for these touching words about your Father.
Hi, Ronald. Sorry about that awful translation. Instead of gears it should be boats and barges.
My Father in law, Donald K. Thompson, was 27, just short of 28 when he went in to Omaha beach with his company. He was the oldest of them, and though he had at the time no rank (only later would he get a battlefield promotion to Sargeant) the guys looked up to him and paid attention when he told them , after wading ashore in shoulder deep water to “strip off those wet clothes as soon as you can, and put on anything dry, or wring out your socks and shorts and rise off as much as possible with fresh water” the guys who did soon were getting around much better than the others, who found out what salt can do as it crystallized in the clothing while they fought inland, in the heat, and chaffed by the salt.
I love good book recommendations. Thank you for this one! Just ordered it. It sounds wonderful.
Another amazing woman, Ellan Levitsky, age 99, U.S. Army nurse in a “makeshift” field hospital in Normandy after the D-Day landings and recipient of the Legion d’honneur, is in France today commemorating the 75th anniversary of D-Day. She and her sister were both nurses there from August 1944 until May 1945. “It’s the first time she had returned to France without her sister (Dorothy), who died in December 2015.” ‘I’m happy to be here, but it’s bittersweet. My sister should be with me,’ she said.” Los Angeles Times, June 6, 2019, page A3:
http://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=78b9d445-8d66-4e97-8ec8-2418c1e7979a
This anniversary of D-Day makes me cry, somehow. Four years and 2 days after the retreat from Dunkirk, when Churchill gave his bold and thrilling speech, ending with We shall never surrender. Yet he let Eisenhower speak to Western Europe on D-Day on radio, saying, approximately, though we did not land in your country, we are coming to liberate you, we the united nations.
I had two uncles in Europe while my father was in the Pacific. They did not like to talk about their experience unless they could make a funny story about it. I am mainly glad they all returned so I could be born, and then know my uncles.
I have been touched all the time at how France responds now, 75 years later, and takes such good care of the memorials, especially the cemeteries, where a grand uncle from the earlier war lies buried, and understands the lessons of the second world war so thoroughly.
Hi Kristi,
I loved President Macron’s speech and President Trump’s speech today at Normandy. It was so moving to see all those WWII Veterans who made the trip there, some of them for the first time.
I have been to Normandy twice with the Boy Scouts. My son was in a ceremony for Memorial Day and it was very moving to see all the white crosses with the French and American flags. The cemetery is very beautiful and I was overwhelmed with emotion when I visited.
Have a nice weekend!
Eileen
Thanks Jerry, we’re in Ottawa and earlier saw this CBC entry. A particular heroine of ours is Violette Szabo, who lost her French husband in North Africa, and she later joined the British service parachuting twice into France to work with the Underground before D-Day. On her second mission she was ambushed and captured. She was executed just weeks before the German surrender. We viewed her George Cross, revolver, and some personal items at the Imperial War Museum in London. Quite moving. There was a film made about her, “Carve Her Name With Pride”. Not nearly enough credit is given to the brave women who were so actively involved in this terrible conflict.
Hi Kristi – I visited Normandy on the 50th anniversary of D-Day. The crosses and stars of David, each representing a life of service and ultimate sacrifice, moved me deeply. Also moving were the banners hung in the town of Caen thanking the Allies for their heroic acts to preserve freedom. May we always remember and honor the brave men and women who fought against and resisted oppression. – Janet
Don’t forget about Virginia Hall!
N’oubliez pas de Virginia Hall!
https://medium.com/s/story/the-female-spy-who-helped-win-wwii-7500a9eb64b4
Your President Trump is a spineless, sniveling coward and a bully.
The Donald Thinks D-Day Is About Him
To have Trump commemorate the Normandy landings is to understand the word impostor.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/05/opinion/trump-d-day-anniversary.html
About ten years ago my husband and I stood on Omaha beach and read my uncle’s letter that he wrote after surviving that D-day landing. He wrote from a now empty German bunker of the horrors of the day. It was a powerful moment. I wish I could have asked him many questions but he died while I was still a child and unaware of this historic day and his part in it. My French “father” and his father participated in the Resistance in southwest France and have said that they’d always love America for the role they played in liberating their country and all of Europe. It is, indeed, a day to remember and ponder.
Thanks for this, Kristi. France keeps all of these never-to-be-forgotten dates alive for the rest of the world. A visit to Normandy and tour of the landing beaches is something everyone should experience. So much is owed.
I’m looking forward to reading Finding Gilbert.
In 40 days I will be in Normandy doing homage to all who died there…on my bucket list for a few years now and finally!
My uncle was wounded in WWII and had a German sword hanging on a wall for as long as I can remember. I was just a toddler when he returned. He never spoke of the war, at least not in my presence! But why the sword? Children, in my family, were not allowed to ask those questions! How I wished I would have asked as an adult! He is deceased now.
“NancyWake” also excellent read for those interested.
An aside: Trump’s remarks from teleprompter were simply perfunctory…as narcissistic personality disorder, among other things, is not capable of feeling for others…mental illness is a very sad thing!
Thank you, Andrew, for the New York Times column. It perfectly expresses the opinions of the 65,853,514 of us who didn’t vote for him. There were actually 2.87 million more votes for Clinton than Trump, but because of our Electoral College system, we now have this nightmare. Please don’t think that he is representative of the majority of our country who didn’t vote for him.
Last time I went to Normandy, our group stopped at the German Cemetery as well. I thought a lot about going in. But I did. I also noticed the youth of those dead young men, and though I hated everything about that war, I was able to think of those as other mothers’ sons and mourn with them.
Foremost in my mind are the words of the First World War poet Wilfred Owen, who was killed in the trenches in France just days before the end of the war:
“My subject is War, and the pity of War.”
“All a poet can do today is warn.”
Look for his poetry. It will underline why we have to stop politicians doing what they do all too easily – because they do not suffer personally.