European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 6, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Owns a store on Rue Robert Murphy Selling military related items from world War i doughboy helmets to world War ii Oil cans and desert storm uniforms. A a in be heard about the liberation from the Day i was born a he said. One of the people he heard it from is. Raymond Paris 70, who warns a visitor that he can talk All night about the events of 50 years ago. A it is impossible to forget this a he said through Joseph Lep Rieur the City Secretary who interpreted Paris recollections. It was 10 . On Jure 5,1944, when Paris heard the Church Bell toll a fire alarm. At about the same time someone called to him with news that a  on fire. The germans lifted the curfew so the townspeople could fight the fire. About 60 germans came to watch Paris said not to help. Suddenly planes passed above the town Low enough for Paris to see soldiers standing in the doorways. Everyone knew it was the Long awaited liberation that would end four years of German occupation in . The town was soon filled with a circus of noise a the planes the gunfire As German soldiers battled the invaders the fearful shouts of women the tolling Church Bell the crackling fire. It is no wonder that Paris remembers the night. Paris watched As two americans were shot after becoming ensnared in Trees. Near his Home Paris spotted an american apparently dead lying in the Middle of the Street. He helped move the body to the Side of the Street and covered it with the Parachute. Near morning on the sixth of june american soldiers walked into town. Paris father and a neighbor ran to them and offered a drink of Calvados a local liqueur. The soldiers declined inviting the men to drink first to assure themselves there was no Poison. A they were not afraid for Long a Paris said laughing. He told How the men drank together to the Point of being a bit Tipsy. Paris returned to the Square and to the dead Soldier beneath the Parachute. Lifting the Chute he found nothing. Just then a voice came from a German truck nearby. The voice spoke in a French dialect of the area and asked a what Are you looking for a a i told him a yesterday my father and a neighbor and i Laid a paratrooper Here. He was  -. A. A Ltd. A the laughed. And he told me a no. It was me. The Soldier was from Louisiana which explained his French language skills. He told Paris that he had played dead because he did no to know who was carrying him. At Sunrise the townspeople began to celebrate their liberation by singing la Marseillaise the French National Anthem. Their Joy was premature. At 8 15 a.m., Paris a. A v 1 % 1"a Vav v a a a. A amps Dove Caiya Model of famed trooper John Steele hangs from the Church Steeple at ste.-m6re-eglise. Said the germans less than one mile from town began to Shell . Complete liberation came two Days later. Jeannette pent Cote was 16 when liberation came. She saw the same sky filled with planes that Paris saw. Her father wanted his family to move to the Back of the House for safety but an Uncle held onto the Young girl and told her to watch. A you will never Sec this again a he told her. A /. A a a. Pentecost a who still operates a bar and restaurant in the town saw More death in the next few Days than any teen Ager should have to see. A a the family left the town to seek safety in neighbouring villages. Walking across the Fields she saw a German Soldier with a Rifle. The family stopped walking. Pentecost a went closer. The Soldier was dead with two Bullet holes in his head. Quot a. A a a a a a a a a Little farther on she saw another dead German. Evidently before he died he pulled from a pocket photos of his family that were still spread before him. At one Point she saw a trailer filled with dead bodies of germans being taken to the country for burial. She remembers yet How the lifeless bodies bounced As the trailer moved. And she remembers the smell of death. Despite those horrors the memory of the liberation remains a pleasant one. It is one told again and again by those who were there she said \ /. A she recalled an american Soldier coming into her fathers byte her shop and offering her a handkerchief. The Soldier explained that his Mother and told him if give the handkerchief to the first French woman Haw. That handkerchief is now in the museum dedicated to the airborne invaders. Stories like these Are easily uncovered in , but stories like these Are a everywhere across Normandy in towns that found themselves in the Svay of the greatest invasion Force in the history of the world. S o Why is this town special Why does this town More than the others hold a special place in the history of a Day Why do veterans come Here again and Gainas they will soon to celebrate the 50th anniversary a the Small villages around  Are the same a said Renaud. A they had the same  he has a theory about this place however. Although Many people were killed in the town none was killed by the allies. All were victims of German weapons. The neighbouring villages suffered from american gunfire. Many residents in those villages today had relatives killed by the pre invasion bombs and shells. Although Renaud has never heard a word of criticism directed at the americans from the people in those villages the facts arc the facts. A i think people know they had to pay to be liberated a he said yet there arc mixed emotions to be weighed. There is another reason Renaud said for the affection still held Here for americans. A a it a because we had for four years 10,000 american soldiers lying in the ground Here a he said. A a Oon after the Battle Fields on the Edge of. Town were turned into a cemetery. Townspeople would place Flowers on the Graves. Two Miles from town another 5,000 soldiers were buried. When the bodies were disinterred in 1948 and moved to another cemetery Renaud said the people of  were sad. A it was like they had been killed for the second time a he said. The anniversary Celebration will offer the people of  one More Chance to show their appreciation. Yet again As time passes and the participants age similar opportunities May be few in number.  will some Day have no More a Day veterans to Welcome no More liberators to Honor or cover with Praise. A when they will not come a Renaud admitted a it will not be the  a a m \ is amps Dav Casoy  resident Raymond Paris. Recalls the events of a Day. Pharmacist Henry Jean Renaud mayor of  on a Days amps Dove Casey s father was a amps Oovi copy Jeannette Pentecoste witnessed the paratroops drop. June 6, 1994 a stars and stripes commemorative edition 17