European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 01, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Amid Normandy push a Rivers walks through itt or a world War ii history nut like Josep Hrivers a morning stroll along a French Beach Between Coll Ville sur Mer and St. Laurent sur Mer is better than leafing through any reference Book. Amid the relentless Waves of the English Channel and the Sandy trails that Lead up to massive 150-foot Bluffs there s a Story almost 50 years old that unfolds if you take the time to listen. Just ask Rivers. He likes walking these trails especially on the morning of june 6. There s something about what happened in 1944 that reeled him in and has kept him hooked the past 11 years. At this particular Beach code named Omaha Many of the 34,000 americans who exited Landing Craft on a Day june 6,1944, and waded ashore came to know it As a place located a Rock s throw from hell. Atop those Bluffs a permanent resting place sits for 9,386 americans who were killed in action during world War ii from the Dieppe raid in 1942 through july 1944. Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt jr., the son of president Theodore Roosevelt and Deputy commander of the 4th inf div is among the buried. And it s there smack dab in the Middle of a sea of manicured lawns and Marble headstones where Riv ers has thrived a superintendent of the Normandy american cemetery and memorial. Preserving the dignity and serenity of the Normandy cemetery  is just part of Rivers responsibilities. As Normandy director he supervises 22 full time employees and also manages the Pointe do hoc Ranger memorial located 15 minutes from i Orville sur Mer another american memorial at St. Maric do Mont on Utah Beach and he Mon s4s Dave Case Joseph Rivers prepares for the 1994 wave. Tors 140 monuments and memorials Between Cher Bourg and St. To. The Normandy cemetery Falls under the authority of the american Battlefield monuments commis Sion. To work with the commission in France Rivers had to learn French. What he did t have to study was the history associated with the . Troops in Normandy during world War ii. His interest some thing he describes As a Hobby was piqued during his first trip to the Normandy cemetery in 1969. As a to Pic motion picture cameraman with the . Air Force i was sent Here to document the 25th anniversary of a Day Aid Rivers a 45-year old native of Massena n.y., who at one Point in his four year military career was stationed at Rhein main a Germany. It was my first exposure to Mil itary cemeteries battlefields and memorials and something stuck with  a few years after leaving the air Force in 1970, Rivers joined the american Battle monuments commission. He served in France first As an assist ant at the Brittany american cemetery near be Mont St Michel and later As a superintendent of the Aisne Marc cemetery near chateau Thierry. Fifteen years after visiting the Normandy Ameri can cemetery As an air Force staff sergeant the Opportunity to work there came along and he jumped for it. This is a very historical site Rivers said about the Normandy cemetery where on dt3ay, German defenders were entrenched to Stop the landings. It s one of the few world War ii cemeteries Over seas that s actually situated on an intense Battlefield. The cemetery is right where the american 1st Divi Sion fought on d-Day.". As cemetery and museum directors in Normandy prepare for 50th-anniversary events next june Riv ers said they expect to be overwhelmed by people especially june through september 1994, based on what happened 10 years ago during the 40th. The following saturday after everyone had seen the ceremonies for the 6th of june 1984 on television there was a huge influx of people into Normandy the next weekend Rivers said. We had a 6-kilo meter traffic Jam outside of the cemetery with people waiting to get in. For the 40th anniversary the museums were overwhelmed. They could t accept any More people. It was like that All summer Long. This the 50th anniversary will certainly be the last a Day ceremony where you la have thousands of american veterans at one time. Well still have vet Erans groups visiting in the future but not with this elaborate  although 1.5 million people visit the Normandy american cemetery each year Rivers still finds Tinc to put on his Tennis shoes and athletic outfit for a morning walk along Omaha Beach. Climbing up and Down these Bluffs is a Good Way to stay in shape he said this past june 6 As he helped an Early morning beachcomber who was lost along the Trail leading Back to the cemetery. A Iii being Here you can t help but be affected by what happened Here on a Day. A Day was the first time in our history that the whole country was geared to Ward one thing the liberation of europe.". Kevin Robinson Wierville ready for one More liberation Wierville sur Mer is so Small that the town Hall occupying two rooms Over the Post office opens Only on monday and Friday from 11 . To  Community of 250 people is just a Dot along the Normandy coast of France. Before world War ii this French Village along with its Sis Ter towns of Collet ill sur Mer and Ste. Laurent sur Mer were very much unknown to americans. A Day june 6,1944, changed All of that. When 34,000 americans used these three towns As avenues leading off a Beach code named Omaha the Village names became etched into military history. As the United states and its world War ii allies who landed at Normandy mobilize to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a Day French residents such As those in Wierville sur Mer Are preparing o Welcome the americans according to Wierville spokesman Jean Pierre Chedal Sanglay. We have in mind and will always that in 1944 we were under nazi occupation and the soldiers who liberated Wierville were americans Chedal Sanglay said. We want to keep living this Story. For us it is a big thing.". For such a Small town Wierville sur Mer has big plans for its portion of the a Day 50th anniversary commemoration. Activities include a june 5 ceremony for 250 National guard veterans from the 29th 843 Oak Casey inf div one of several v corps units that came ashore at Omaha Beach a formal Ball fireworks a dedication ceremony at the National guard Monu ment on the Beach and the issuance of diplomas to veterans making them honorary citizens of Wierville Coleville and Ste. Laurent. Wierville sur Mer like All of the French towns along the allies 80-Kilometer Normandy Landing route will experience a tremendous influx of Money As people flock for the 50th. Still Chedal Sanglay says the town s relationship with a Day veterans goes beyond the French franc. The Impact of the 50th anniversary on the Vil Lage is nothing commercial he said. It s from the heart. Besides Many of the vets who visit Aren t Rich  aside from a Day activities Wierville sur is Dav Casoy Jean Pierre Chedal Sanglay above and Clerville museum. Mar is a quiet Village of old chateaus one Church two grocery stores two restaurants and a sea front hotel and cafe. Once a vibrant agricultural comm nity of 24 farms Wierville is More a Haven for Reti Rees and people who like to sail. Chedal Sanglay and two assistants arc interviewing Many of the older inhabitants who were in Wierville when the americans landed at Omaha Beach on june 6, 1944. They feel this Way they can have a com plete record of the stories to give to journalists expected Between now and june 6, 1994. One thing journalists usually get wrong Cheul Sanglay said is How they refer to a Day in their Sto Ries. For the germans june 6,1944 was an inva Sion. But for Frenchman it was a Day of liberation. I think saying invasion is a  Kevin Robinson August 1,1993 sunday pages