Every #MemorialDay, I share this video.
French caretakers take the sand from Omaha Beach in Normandy and scrub them into the letters to give them the brown/gold coloring.
They do this for all 9,386 soldiers who died.
France also gave us this land as American soil.
Please feel free to include memories of your loved ones in this thread.
The grave you see is that of MAJ William Andrew Richards. He was a member of the 112th Engineer Combat Battalion.
His unit was in action against Nazi forces on Omaha Beach killed in the early hours.
William A. Richards Medals and Awards:
Distinguished Service Cross
Purple Heart
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Arrowhead Pin and Bronze Star
World War II Victory Medal
Of all the soldiers buried there, only 4 are women.
Sgt. Dolores Browne and PFC Mary J. Barlow and Mary H. Blankston, were members of the first all-female and the first all-African-American battalion to serve overseas.
Their battalion was nicknamed the six-triple eight.
This battalion of 850 women was the only all-black Women’s Army Corp unit to be deployed to Europe in WW2. The "Six Triple Eight" was responsible for sorting mail to soldiers.
If you have never been to Normandy or any of the D-Day beaches, I encourage you all to go in a tour. You will learn so much and see so much history.
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