Day 8 - Sainte-Mère-Église and Paris

June 8 - A good ending and a new beginning

Church of St. Michel, Sainte-Mère-Église

All packed up and ready to part from our tour comrades at the end of the day, we drove to a special location first, Brécourt Manor. A very brave assault was launched here by Company E of the 101st Airborne Division, the original Band of Brothers. 

Finally, and perhaps our best site of the whole trip, we arrived in Sainte-Mère-Église. Well known for being the place where two paratroopers got snagged on the spire and the church roof, it was very, very moving to see the effigy of one of them, John Steele, still hanging from the church. Sainte-Mère-Église was the first town in France to be liberated from the Nazis, and Sainte-Mère-Église does not forget.

The Airborne Museum is first rate. The Combat Glider "Waco" is on display, and I was amazed to learn how many men a glider carried. It looked like it could hold 8-12 men. Truly there is a wealth of information and artifacts in this place.

We were enjoying perfect weather, so a walk around the grounds of the museum was followed by a walk around the town and an open-air lunch with my own little band of brothers. I also visited the church, and lit a candle for peace. I had prayed all along the journey at cemeteries and battle grounds for the repose of the glorious dead and for the peace and freedom for which they died to be an enduring reality.

Just as we were about to depart, the good old 82nd Airborne started dropping a regiment of paratroopers just outside of the town. We had a great view as plane after plane debouched dozens and dozens of paratroopers over the fields. It was raining freedom all over again.

SO SAD! We arrived at the Gare du Nord around 5:00 p.m. and had to say goodbye to all the great friends we had made on the trip. I will keep several of them in my heart forever.

However, my trip was not finished. I still had three nights to spend in Paris, beginning this night with a reunion dinner between myself and my old friend Elizabeth from Mauritius. Along with her boyfriend Marc and gal pal Michele, we met at my hotel and walked about 1 KM to the beautiful art nouveau brasserie Julien on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis. We ate and drank and talked until very late, and I finally fell into bed at my hotel about midnight.

Next day >