Taken Inside a Church, ahh, in Normandy, France

Somehow, I don't know how, but yeah, I came across this OLD image of mine from my old website ... Which I thought was removed a LONG time ago! Crazy how that worked out!

** Update: Yeah, I tried it again today, came up with NOTHING! I guess I was just "LUCKY" that one time. But it was fun seeing my "OLD STUFF"! !

But yeah, seeing THIS old image, brought back some great MEMORIES, ahh, and seeing that today is MEMORIAL DAY, and yeah, I took this shot over in Normandy, you know, where U.S. troops jumped out of planes on D-Day during World War Two, and yes! Some of them actually did get "hung up" on church steeples. True story.

And many died.

On the beaches, in the hedgerows, and in the towns, and villages along the beautiful French coast ...

Or wherever they found themselves at on that day!

And yes, while visiting Europe years later (first, in the early-1960s), and then again while living in Bremerhaven, Germany, working as a civilian photographer for the U.S. Army, while my former wife was stationed over there in mid-1980s, as well as when shooting for VIKING RIVER CRUISES, and then again, when visiting my old, Marine buddy, who I first met over in Japan in 1976, where we both served in the Marine Corps, and then YEARS later, when he was retiring from the Marines (I only served three years!), yeah, I spent the Summer of 2009 over there with his, like 16 year old son (who is now a Marine himself!), driving around Europe for a month, while his dad went home on Medical Leave (really!), after having his neck operated on earlier, you know, just like I did years later ...

I know, CRAZY, right?

Anyway ... While in the area, and no, I can't remember, oh wait! GOOGLE! Yeah, while in Sainte-Mere-Eglise (you know I couldn't spell that one!), a small town in Normandy, yeah, this is where I took THIS image! Yes, from INSIDE a church! A beautiful stained-glass window, of war, inside a church!

Go figure.

But that is France, and yes, during WWII, on D-Day (6 Jun 45), many American soldiers did indeed, get caught up on church steeples that day when they were "blown off course", during the invasion that morning!

Unreal.

Except it really did happen!

And the French remember ...

World War Two.

As did this American, who was born ten years AFTER the war!

But hey! One of my uncles served on Iwo Jima back in the day! And never mentioned it to me, even after I joined the Marines, like YEARS later!

And yes, I also had a grandfather that served in the Army during World War One, and two uncles (and an aunt!) that served during World War Two, plus my father served in the Army, during the Vietnam War, and yes, even I served in the Marines, right after the Vietnam War, plus, yeah, I was also married to a women who served twenty years in the U.S. Army right after college, where we met.

Which yes! I was only able to attend, due to the G.I. BILL, you know, from back in the day!

Three years in the Marine Corps, earned me four years of college. Smartest move I ever made!

So yeah, when I saw this "image pop" in my viewfinder while inside that dark church, yeah! I "Pushed the Button"! A couple of times I'm sure! Too easy! I couldn't believe "my luck"! What a moment

In a church. Are you serious?

But what a way to remember, and honor, MEMORIAL DAY!

I hope to get out and make my way over to Black Mountain, NC, rather soon, you know, to visit the Military Cemetery over there like I have in the past ... We'll see. Memorial Day and/or Veteran's Day, I usually try to get over there at least once a year when I can. We'll see ... Rainy couple of days ahead.

But yeah, just writing about it gets me "Fired Up"!

You never know ...

Remember those that "Gave Their All" for their country!

Get out there! See what you can come up with!

Semper Fi