On Our Way To Normandy

Tomorrow our two families leave for Caen, Normandy and the beaches The men and boys will then depart by ferry to Portsmouth to see Lord Admiral Nelson's flag ship. Rachel, Yaëlle and I will drive south west to LeTréhou in Bretagne where my french ancestors on my father's side are from. It is no wonder that I love the water was my mom's side of the family hail from Scotland and then Cape Breton Island.

So what have we been doing these last few days? Jeff has been searching the area to find the woods where his grandfather fought during WWI. We landed in St. Hilaire de Woevre, walked into an old church, yelled Bonjour and were greeted by a woman who was painting a sacristy door.

The church of St Hilaire was razed during the war of 1914 and was restored in 1928 There was an order of Carmelites here who also perished during the war While this lovely lady did not know where the exact woods were where Jeff's grandfather fought she knew lots about St Xavier, St Anthony Padua and numerous other Saints! She was more than happy to show us this church which she and her husband lovingly clean and paint. Not far from here we drove off a country road into a nearby forest We drove past a large, crater-like indentation within the woods which could only have been made by a bomb. After parking the car Jeff walked into the woods perhaps only 200 feet and discovered a bunker and trenches.

Today we drove to St Avold to see the WWII cemetary, the largest cemetary in Europe for American Soldiers; 10,000 soldiers are buried here; ten thousand crosses, ten thousand sons, spouses, brothers, friends Words cannot explain seeing row upon row of white, marble crosses and white marble Stars of David. After seeing such a sight I want to return to Marie and Michelle's garden and sit amidst their flowers.