Monday May 26, Memorial Day
For the most part, I am posting the blogs in date order. But today, I am going to go out of order with a special edition of My 52 To Do. Monday May 26th was Memorial Day in the United States. It is the holiday when we honor and mourn the U.S. military veterans who died while serving in the US Armed Forces.
In advance of our trip, Paul researched my Grandfather and his service in World War II. We have been deliberate on this trip to visit some of the places my grandfather was stationed during the war. We visited the city of Metz, France a town my grandfather’s unit helped liberate. Metz has been strategically important for centuries. Before World War II, the town of Metz had never fallen to invaders. German soldiers occupied Metz as part of the German occupation of France. The battle of Metz began In the fall of 1944, and for the first time in history, Metz fell. The men of the 95th Infantry Division were given the name “The Iron Men of Metz” in recognition of their courage and resolve during this ferocious battle. The American victory at Metz gave the Allies a path to the German western wall and ultimately, a route into Germany.
We also visited the beaches of Normandy. My Grandfather’s Division arrived in Omaha Beach shortly after the D Day invasion. Seeing the defenses the American, British and Canadian armies faced on D Day is awe inspiring.
Touring places my grandfather walked was a really moving experience for me. While I always knew he fought in the war, I never really thought about the many countries in which he was stationed, the cities he lived in, the battles in which he fought, the things he saw.
My grandfather survived the war. During our travels, we have visited several American cemeteries in Europe. We spent time at the cemetery where soldiers from the Battle of Metz are buried. The American Battle Monuments Commission does a beautiful job of maintaining the burial grounds. At all three cemeteries, we happened to be there late in the day when taps was played. If you can stand in a war cemetery, seeing the thousands of graves, while listening to taps and not cry, you are a tougher person than I am.
We visited the American battle sites in Normandy with a guide and six other travelers. Two of those travelers had come from the States to visit the grave of their great uncle, who died during the D Day invasion. I believe it was the first time any of the family had been able to come to France to visit the grave. While I know I will never see this family again, the look on their faces as they prepared to visit the grave is forever seared in my brain.
So this Memorial Day feels different to me. Paul and I have both had and have family members and friends who served/serve in the military. I like to think I am always mindful of their service, but I am not sure I have ever really told them thank you. To all who have served or who are serving, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I don’t have the words to thank you for your courage and sacrifice. To those who paid the ultimate price, in the words of General George Patton “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived” ( Not much to say here …..and so much to say here. After researching Kerrie’s grandfather I had a better understanding of where her toughness and resolve comes from. He was forced to be a hard man because of hard times. God bless him)
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