YESTERDAY IN HISTORY: D-Day - June 6, 1944

Most schools are probably still in session so a trip to a D-Day commemoration is likely not possible for your family right now. But sometime this summer you may want to take your youngsters (the older ones) to one of the nation's WWII memorials. 

• The National World War II Museum in New Orleans. (Hey, the Gulf Coast could use our support right now!)
• The town of Bedford VA lost more soldiers per capita on D-Day than any other area in the US. The National D-Day Memorial Foundation was built to commemorate their loss and that of other towns across the country. My visit there (while I was researching BLUE) gave me a much clearer image of how the assault took place.
• At the Museum of Avaiation in Warner Robins, GA you can see a short movie Papa said, "We should never forget." which tells the story of D-Day from a young French girl's perspective.
• Through June, the Little White House Museum in Warm Springs, GA features an exhibit of The Tuskegee Airman. 
• National World WII Memorial in Washington, DC
• Rosie the Riveter National Memorial Park in Richmond, CA
• The USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, Oahu, HI

War Memorials always give me conflicting feelings because I believe so strongly that war doesn't solve problems. But I value history and hope that by reliving it, I will learn something and live well as a result.

RESEARCH IN FRANCE: Dr. Eric Groce Reports

Last week, Eric Groce flew to France. (Some people get the best gigs!) Here he is with his "two French Grandmothers". Marthe and Odette are characters in Eric's work-in-progress - historical fiction about French villagers who assisted members of the 82nd Airborne after the D-Day invasion. Marthe (standing) the main character, was 12 years-old at the time.

This is Eric's 7th trip to France. This time he's working on a new WWII story about children of the resistance. I asked him to give us a brief update:

#1 unexpected challenge----I got to Memorial de Caen---a large museum and library to do research and make digital images from the archives and the librarian informed me the archives were closed until March! (sad face)…so I began to find historic spots around the city related to my person of interest and log them in my GPS and make notes about them. Not what I had planned, but the best I could do under the circumstances.

#2 new person ---The next day I interviewed a gentleman named Monsieur Andre Heintz. He was a teacher at the Ecole St. Joseph in Caen during the war years and was heavily involved in the Resistance. He is 90 years old and as fit as a fiddle! Truly a remarkable gentleman.

#3 Anything else? --- Even though the weather in this part of France is almost always cold, windy, and wet, the welcome I always receive from my friends in Normandy always warms my heart---not to mention the fantastic food.

Hmmm - French food? Eric seriously gets my Lil' Green Research Award. (It's all about professional jealousy!) Thank you Eric for sharing! I suppose the closed museum means you'll be going back in March?And to my dear readers, you can have a free 20 minute DVD reenactment of Marthe and Odette's heartwarming story - IF you enter and win the contest. See sidebar!

Please sign up today - and if you win - do share it with a classroom or library near you. A loan is fine. You don't have to give it away.

Here's a sneak preview!

Papa said, "We should never forget." from David Druckenmiller on Vimeo.

D-DAY DELAYED POST

Larry Mosteller is my antique car expert. He's restoring this one. Chuck and I loved hanging out with him and Kay and their classic car club.

I was thinking, on Saturday, that I should be writing a D-Day Post but I was busy gallivanting around in a 1934 Chrysler instead. And visiting the Miracle of Hickory Exhibit and eating BBQ! (The way it ought to be eaten!)

So now, two days, later I shall play "catch up with the times".

We've heard the D-Day story so often. I saw a great piece on World News Tonight about young folks going with WWII vets back to Normandy to hear their stories and provide emotional and physical support. (Fabulous!)

But rarely do we get to glimpse the D-Day invasion from the eyes of a young French girl. Recently however, I've had the extraordinary privilege of reading a middle grade manuscript by a local writer who is telling such a story.

Such a story, indeed. This is the sort of story that practically tells itself.

Unfortunately it's never that easy! The writer has to actually compose, revise, revise, and revise. And what about some more revisions?

But really, all the elements of plot are built into this historical event. Not just the elements - but the symbolism, the human drama, the tender touching relationships between American soldiers and French peasants.

This is the sort of story that makes me wish I had discovered it. Except that it required multiple trips to France and researching through an interpreter.

I could do that, of course. But would I?

I love that Eric Groce did. And I'm thrilled he included me in the reading and critiquing process. I'll be doing the happy dance when I see it in print.