Wednesday 2 June 2010

T is for Tribute to D Day Veterans.


This coming weekend sees the 66th Anniversary of the D Day Allied landings in Normandy.
Therefore my T assignment for Mrs Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday this week is about some of the Tributes that ex- servicemen and women, and the families of the fallen will be attending here in my area.
Click here to read about the official tributes taking place.
However, not all of the Tributes this weekend will be on such a grand scale.
Throughout Normandy small towns and villages will be holding their own services of remembrance, I thought you might like to know about some of those. If the name of the town is highlighted you can click on the link to learn more.
On 4th Friday, 4th June, in Villers sur Mer, a bench will be unveiled by Mr & Mrs Don White from Australia to the memory of Private George WHITE, 9th Para, whose name is Commemorated on the Memorial close by the church.
The next day June 5th in Bavent (Le Mesnil)at 10:30hrs.there wil be a Service of Remembrance and Wreath laying at 3rd Para Brigade & 1st Canadian Para Battalion Memorials.
On the same day at 15:00 hrs in St Vaast en Auge a service will be held to commemorate the men who died after a navigational error when Horsa Glider LH324 crashed into the wood of the Manor Farm near the village.
In Gonneville en Auge at 16:00hrs there will be a ceremony at 9th Para Battalion Memorial and in Breville les Monts also at 16:00hrs a Commemoration and wreath laying at the crossroads Memorial and a vin d'honneur afterwards on the green opposite the Mairie (Town Hall).
Later that afternoon at 17:30 hrs Bures sur Dives a Wreath laying at the Captain Juckes RE Memorial and at the same time at the Merville Battery, Veterans of the 9th Para Battalion will march to the Official Ceremony.
Whilst at the Mairie (Town Hall) in the commune of Bénouville the Mayor Alain Lepareau will welcome the veterans, their families and friends at the Salle Polyvalente (Community centre) for a Band Concert and afterwards, an aperitif.
Perhaps the most poignat Tribute of all will take place in the small village of Colleville-Montgomery, when 86 year old Glaswegian Bill Millin, the Scots piper who led Allied troops on D-Day, will unveil a statue of himself.
In a quote from the Daily Record newspaper Glaswegian Bill, who previously saw a model of the statue, said: "It is very good of the French to do this for me. It is a good likeness, I was 21 then, very young."
Amongst the first to land at Sword Beach on June 6th 1944 Bill was ordered by Lord Lovat to play the pipes to rally troop morale.

Some other interesting web sites:
http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/no.php
http://www.memorial-caen.fr/portailgb/
http://www.travelsignposts.com/France/sightseeing/normandy-landings-pointe-du-hoc

Remember to stop by Jenny's blog Off On My Tangent for other T posts

29 comments:

  1. What a beautiful T post Maggie. So good that there are Tributes to all the service people that lost their lives for our freedom. We who lived during the war are still very thankful to them.

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  2. Beautiful post, Maggie. You write beautifully and concisely.

    Carol

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  3. I wrote about a tribute to troops too. You wrote a beautiful piece.

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  4. I haven't visited Normandy in prior trips to France but my friends who have, have shared that it is a very moving experience. I would love to be there for the day of remembrance and tributes.

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  5. A very nice tribute. I'm still sour that our town had such a poor showing for the Memorial Day Parade.

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  6. WONDERFUL TRIBUTE TO OUR TROOPS!!! THANK YOU!!!

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  7. A wonderful tribute to wonderful people who must never be forgotten.

    Very moving and reflective.

    Wishing you a Happy Alphabe-Thursday,

    LOLA:)

    PS Mine’s HERE.

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  8. A beautiful Memorial Day tribute, Maggie!

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  9. What a beautiful tribute to our veterans. Thanks for stopping by my T post and the sweet comment.

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  10. Thank you for such a beautiful post! My great uncle survived the landing. Unfortunately he passed away from heart disease when I was a child, so I could never ask him about it.

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  11. Hi,

    Excellent post and tribute. I went to Normandy and when you see the place your mind fills with images and also sadness. I get very emotional visiting these types of areas. Lets not forget! I'm hoping that you can take a minute to join me at my Tea Party at my blog. It starts at 4:00pm. Lots of goodies to eat as well. LOL I'm a new follower.
    Thanks for sharing.

    Anne-Marie

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  12. What a Great T post. Looks like there will be a lot of tributes.

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  13. I just came upon your blog and am pleased I stopped. You have some enchanting photos. I have been many times in Normandie but it was usually in the summer when I was growing up, for our summer vacation. I wish I could be there for D-Day.

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  14. Maggie, this is such a beautiful link. It made me teary.

    There has been so much heroism and loss offered up for our freedom.

    This is really a special link this week for Alphabe-Thursday's journey through the letter "T".

    Thank you for sharing it.

    A+

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  15. Beautiful post and a lovely tribute to those who sacrificed so much. I can just picture that brave young man playing the pipes with battle going on all around him. Thanks for the links, this was a really moving post. Kathy

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  16. That was lovely, Maggie - we can't ever forget the bravery and determination of those young men.

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  17. Maggie, a person could stay very busy if they wanted to attend each of these tributes! A lot going on. I sure wish I could come for a visit! laurie

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  18. Great tribute! I am personally remembering a recent fallen soldier friend of my son. They served together in Iraq last year. Whichever war, our fallen soldiers are heroes.

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  19. Maggie, thanks for posting this. I love to see the tributes here in Belgium to the troops who liberated this area from Nazi occupation. It's really touching. This year we're hoping to visit the Normandy beaches. They're so close, there's no reason for us not to visit.

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  20. "Tribute" is a good T-word. What a wonderful post. Beautiful. But I get all weepy and don't know what more to say.

    My father landed on Omaha Beach a little time after the first landing. He spent most of five years in the US army in Belgium, France and England until the war ended. He was in Belgium when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. That event became his ticket home.

    Daddy lived to be over 88 years old. And I think he always carried with him the thought that he was among the lucky ones. He told me once this. There were so many who never could go home. On all sides.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Best wishes,
    Anna

    Anna's Ts

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  21. i really want to get to normandy and pay my own respects. thank you for this tribute to tributes!

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  22. A wonderful post, Maggie. My son visited the beaches of Normandy on a back packing trip he took through Europe after graduating college. He always had an interest in history and D-Day and spent 6 hours on a tour. He was very touched by the stories, the graveyards and tributes he saw.

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  23. Hi, thanks for your comment on my trees. I had so many visitors this week because teacher put me at the front of the class!
    Your post is interesting - here all the commemorations are to do with the evacution of Dunkirque 70 years ago

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  24. So many people lost their lives that day...I hope we never forget the tragedies of war....great tribute and T word....

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  25. Maggie, we were fortunate to be in Normandy three times. It is probably my favorite part of France. We toured the landing beaches with a Frenchman named Jean-Marc Bacon and though he was young, he was impassioned about the events of D-day. Probably a favorite memory is being at the American cemetary near Colleville-sur-mer and heaing the chimes play America the Beautiful at closing. We also love Bayeux and were thrilled to visit St. Mère église. Thank for you the post....it's wonderful to know that the French have not forgotten the sacrifices by so many. Linda

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  26. A wonderful post...What a lot of research and time you gave in linking all the wonderful links. Thank you for sharing this...
    Blessings & Aloha!

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  27. Maggie - I appreciate all the time you've taken to identify links to the places where the sacrifices of the military have not be forgotten. I do hope to visit the beaches of Normandy one day and I would also like to visit the Vimy Memorial. Have you read "The Stone Carvers" by Jane Urquhart? It's about the building of the Vimy Memorial and life in the trenches. It's extremely well written.

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Thanks for stopping by, your visit just made my day!