Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 8, 1994 TAG: 9406080087
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRE, FRANCE LENGTH: Medium
In 1944, the soldiers of Allied armies captured northwestern France from the occupying German troops. Now, with its beauty and the warmth of its people, the region itself is capturing hundreds of veterans who have returned for the 50th anniversary of D-Day.
The rolling countryside around the town of Vire features low ridges separated by green valleys. At the crest of every ridge is a postcard view full of small farm fields, ancient stone farmhouses and tiny villages with their tall church steeples setting them off from the next ridge line.
Vire, now a town of 13,000, traces its origins to the time of William the Conqueror. The gothic Notre Dame Church in the town's center began with the construction of a chapel by Henry I, king of England and duke of Normandy.
Like many very old Norman towns, Vire was all but reduced to piles of stone rubble during World War II.
An Allied bombing raid against the German garrison on June 6, 1944, destroyed most of Vire and damaged the church. Although it was the custom of the Allies to warn townspeople about a coming bombing, the people of Vire got no warning because leaflets intended for the town fell elsewhere, and 450 people died when the bombs fell.
That freedom is more dear than property was evident in the friendly faces of thousands of residents of Vire and the surrounding farm country who turned out in the town's center to welcome the soldiers of the 29th Division. Fifty years ago, in early August 1944, the men helped liberate Vire.
The people of Vire began planning for the return of the veterans two years ago and last year formed "Vire 44," an organization to manage Tuesday's events, according to Helene Besombes of the town's tourist office.
The townspeople have kept the memory of the war alive through various activities, including a pictoral history, and by having World War II survivors go into schools and talk to the children.
The children were out in large numbers Tuesday, wearing the red, white and blue of France and the United States.
"It is the end of an era" is the way Jean Pierre Catherine, a film-maker who grew up in Vire, described the ceremony. The 50th anniversary marks the end of a period of domination of world affairs by the United States and the Soviet Union, Catherine said. D-Day was the beginning of that era, he said.
"These men were very big heroes," Catherine said as he watched 29th Division veterans receive special medals from the town. "They delivered us from the tyranny of the Fascists."
"Today was fabulous," said Hubert Hobbs of Cloverdale after getting his medal. His wife is beginning to get a little weary of the ceremonies and parades that have taken up every day of his return to France, but not him, Hobbs said.
The people of Vire have made the veterans feel that what they did during the war was worthwhile, Hobbs said.
An honor guard from today's 29th Division-Light National Guard units in Virginia and Maryland was back with the veterans Tuesday after having been shut out of the Omaha Beach ceremony Monday with President Clinton.
The guardsmen have been soaking up the history of their outfit on this trip, and Tuesday asked permission of the veterans to march through their ranks and shake each of their hands while a division band from Maryland played for them.
Jason Vinkemuller of Radford, Francisco Davilla of Roanoke and David Edwards of Vinton were among the Western Virginians in the honor guard. The men said they are having a good time in France - and not just from being with the veterans.
"Oh my Lord, the food is great," Vinkemuller said. "I'm going to go back weighing 10 pounds more than I do now."
by CNB