European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 6, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse A gift from the 101 St airborne by Joseph Oyven staff writer s , France a the paratroops of the 101st airborne div who came to this Little coastal town on a Day brought Only one gift one for which Many of them died while delivering Liberty. That fact is instantly apparent to any visitor who arrives Here today even when nobody is around to Tell the tale. , which includes Utah Beach in its boundaries is so Small it May never need a traffic Light. A heavy stillness Hung Over it on a recent Spring afternoon a stillness broken Only when a clutch of schoolchildren exploded through the town Square on their Way Home they vanished in minutes the Stone houses seemed to absorb them by osmosis. The Square became again like a Dusty painting in a museum where quiet is strictly enforced. Yet everywhere dozens of painted signs in the town Center sing a shrill a Day song. They adorn the Church the houses the fences and other structures bearing anecdotes about what happened at those precise spots on the night the american paratroops descended. One Soldier landed on a roof bounced Down the tiles and dropped to the Street where two German soldiers pinned him against a Wall intending to execute him. But other americans emerged from the shadows and the germans fled. Another Tablet describes a gun Battle inside the Church which changed hands several times during the night. Two germans hid inside it for hours after the americans had seized it for Good. A amps Joseph Owen town mayor Jean Lavillon amp re 58.s Joseph Owen the Church predates the 11th Century in the Vestibule photographs depict part of its history especially the blows it suffered in the a Day invasion. The 82nd airborne div commander during the War maj. Gen. Maxwell d. Taylor signed one such photograph writing to the pastor his a regrets for the War damage to his the a Liberty Trail a originating at Utah Beach passes along the Street that wraps itself Halfway around the churchyard. The town Hall where mayor Jean Lavillon Cre is absorbed with a Day anniversary planning stands on the other Side of the Street. A the Celebration coordinator is the Nayor of ,�?� Lavillon Cre said. A i Sec ragging out maps and charts the 66-year-old parisian transplant said Utah Beach is much better suited to the 50th anniversary ceremonies than Omaha Beach is because Utah Beach is Flat. Even so he worried that invasion veterans might be squeezed out of the festivities the Way Many were in 1984. A a it a such a Small area. It can to accommodate a lot of people a he said the sole non vip viewing stand will hold Only 7,000 people Lavillon Cre said a but we know that Many More than that Are returning the towns citizenry also May get shunted aside according to author and resident Gilles Perrault whose 18 books include the secret of a Day. During the 40th anniversary he said extravagant Security measures kept people locked a amps Joseph above is quiet today a contrast from a Day. The Marker left is at the town limit on the Utah Beach Highway. In their houses where they watched the ceremonies on television. That seems Likely to happen again. A there is a frustration. We Are dispossessed of this event a Perrault said. This despite the fact that a few decades after the War the towns children still wore pyjamas made from Cut up . Parachutes and local Farmers still found barnyard uses for the Metal Grilles on which the allies had landed their planes. A the same Perrault said the people of Are proud to be associated with an event that was the biggest thing to happen in Normandy since the Hundred years War or perhaps even since the normans opposite direction invasion of Britain in 1066. A fall of a sudden history surged totally on june 6, 1944, and it was a history of global dimensions a Perrault said adding later a we Arentt a Village like the others because history has visited us. And its a Story with a Happy 545 Josaph own local author Gilles Perrault june 6, 1994 a stars and stripes commemorative edition 25
