My wife proved that I don’t know everything

[Jessie]

She asked if I knew that some appreciative French bring sand from the beaches of Normandy during the anniversary each year and make a slurry that they rub into the crosses, all 9,386 of them, to highlight the names with the gold hue of the sand.
I thank them for their show of respect.
( I tried to upload a short video of it but was unable)

 

[ike1518]

Awesome response by the French!

 

[Mark 40]

Jessie thanks for sharing. What's great is it's being passed down generation after generation so that it's always remembered.

 

[Rudi]

That is fantastic!

 

[djohns6]

I read that a while back . Also there are cemeteries where the graves have been " adopted " by the locals and they are maintained and flowers are put out , etc. Supposedly there is a waiting list for people to take over care of a grave .

 

[Rustyt1953]

That is touching. Especially as I have a great uncle who fell in France.

Using Sand from Omaha Beach to Make These Heroes' Names More Visible >> TwistedSifter

 

[Jessie]

Thanks Rusty. That's the one I saw

 

[fiasconva]

That is great! I had never heard that before. BTW, if that's the first time she's done that you are way ahead of the rest of us.

 

[Jessie]

That's the first I'll admit to.

 

[Heinz]

I visited the Normandy beaches. Very moving place. It is difficult to imagine what it took to get off those beaches.

 

[Jessie]

That visit is on my bucket list.

 

[Rustyt1953]

While this video is from 8 years ago it still moves me.

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8k9Si28k0Fk[/ame]

 

[Beemerguy53]

The cancer surgeon who saved my life in 1991 was named for his uncle, Captain Clyde Everett Price, a B-24 pilot who was shot down in France in 1943.

When I paid my respects to Captain Price at the Ardennes American Cemetery, outside Bastogne, Belgium, back in 2012, a staff member there escorted me to his grave, carrying a bag of sand, and filled in his cross so it would stand out when I photographed it...very effective!