Here in France, it’s hard to miss the commencement of the 70th-anniversary commemoration of the D-Day landings, from traffic problems all over Paris to a friend’s mobile uploads of Her Majesty’s arrival at Gare du Nord this afternoon. In the midst of all that, I want to take a quiet, solemn moment to remember the sacrifice made by so many on that day and in the weeks and months that followed to liberate France from Nazi occupation. Much has been written — and much is surely being written even as I type away here — on the significance of the day. Instead of adding to that (or possibly detracting from it), I’ll just share the words and images from my last two efforts to express the complex mix of emotions the day evokes for me. (Click the title links or the photos to access the two articles.)
A Day to Remember
(on the history of the day)
6 June 2012
The Thin, Wet Line of Khaki
(about my visit to the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial)
19 August 2013
“To these we owe the high resolve
that the cause for which they died shall live.”
© 2014 Samuel Michael Bell, all rights reserved
je parle américain 
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