Memorial Day

In 2006, we had a most memorable opportunity to say thank you and salute our fallen soldiers from WWII.

Memorial Day weekend, 2006, we (the boys, Daddy and me) took a camping trip with the Boy Scouts. Since I watched the 50th anniversary happenings in June, 1994, I knew I had to one day go there. We went to Normandy, to the cemetery. The scouts were able to camp ON THE GRUONDS at the cemetery. There is a line of trees to the east of the cemetery rows, and behind there is a small clearing where we were able to set up camp.

Shortly after arriving, settling in, getting up tents, we were able to wander the grounds and take it all in. We wandered down to the shore to walk where our veterans came across the beach that fateful June so long ago. The chills one gets just sitting here remembering our trip and experience of camping on the grounds... This is one memory that will always be with me. I hope that our scouts, my own boys and those who have ever had that opportunity, to just visit Normandy, will take away an appreciation of what was given that day.

We had a German bus driver for our weekend trip. The humorous part of this entire trip was that the driver knew where the brothers that the movie "Saving Private Ryan" was base upon, were buried within the cemetery. Follow this link: http://www.battlefieldsww2.50megs.com/normandy_american_cemetery.htm to near the bottom to a section about "Personalities." You will find the Niland brothers along with some other interesting facts.

A map from Google.com of the cemetery... http://www.satellite-sightseer.com/id/2571.

Something I had forgotten about, but while looking for some pictures, I found this fact: There are among the over 9000 buried there, 38 sets of brothers buried there, and there are 33 sets of brothers buried side by side. I can only imagine the pain of the families back home recieving news of ONE son, husband, brother lost in the war, but to have lost two and have them resting in the same place, it truly shows the great price the "Greatest Generation" paid for us today.

If you are out today, please be sure to thank a veteran. While we were in Germany, the other opportunity we had was to put new flags on the graves of US soldiers buried in the Heidelberg area. They had stayed and had families there in some cases. One Sergeant, who we searched and searched for his gravesite one day, was buried with his wife's family in their plot. We couldn't immediately find him because of this. But once we did, we saw a small marker stating he was a US soldier.

I, for one, am very thankful for those who have gone before. May the Lord bless and keep you and yours!