Far from Home, but Not Forgotten

by Jeff Lytle

A pilgrimage to Normandy had been on our travel list since meeting D-Day 2 veteran Peter Thomas, who passed away at age 92 in 2016.

We finally got there this spring, when my wife, Susan, and I were in Tuscany and did an add-on cruise from Normandy to Copenhagen.

We anticipated an emotional experience.

What we did not expect was an emotional experience a week earlier, when our Tuscany tour guide took our bus for an unannounced stop.

After seeing the tourist sites of Florence, we drove to a hilly countryside and wound our way through meticulously curved rows of white headstones. We were at the Florence American Cemetery, 70 acres with the remains of nearly 4,400 troops, most of them killed in the waning days of World War II in 1944. Then early 1,400 missing Americans are memorialized with names in granite.

Wall maps lay out the vast investment of U.S. blood, sweat and tears in that era in Europe.

By coincidence, Florence American Cemetery was the first memorial mentioned in a documentary film about the 26 U.S. cemeteries in 17 countries — narrated by Peter Thomas, who became one of the world’s most important voice artists.

Our tour group leader, a native Italian, said she was moved by cemetery visits with her grandfather, and thought we would appreciate seeing that one.

We did.

The Normandy American Cemetery put everything in perspective with more than twice as many acres and manicured gravesites, and a Garden of the Missing with 1,560 remembrances.

We were able to inspect preserved German bunkers and marveled how the site was ever taken — against such deadly odds.

The cemetery is on a cliff over Omaha Beach, with the English Channel in the line of sight. “American Youth Rising from the Waves” is the striking title of a keynote statue saluting strength and joy.

The spirit and experience marches on after 82 years, with daily flag-lowering ceremonies at dusk and 1 million visitors per year since 1956.

Hearing about Normandy is one thing. Seeing it in person is something else.

A new Hollywood movie, Pressure, is devoted to the monumental military assault being so dependent upon something beyond control — the weather.

Aptly, it was windy and cold the day we were there.

Jeff Lytle has covered and commented on the Naples area since1979. Contact him at jlytle1951@gmail.com