Perspectives on D-Day from IE3 intern as official guest to Obama Speech

Noted on June 23, 2009 by Cynthia Engel in

When I arrived in France a few weeks ago, it seemed I was the only one that didn’t know, and yet I should have been the first- Obama was coming to Normandy. It was a much-anticipated visit, since he had rejected stopping in Normandy previously when invited to visit there just before the NATO summit in Strasbourg. Since his return for the ceremony of the 65th anniversary of D-Day was confirmed, all the preparations have been closely followed in the media. The memories of WWII being continually present in the French national spirit, the D-Day anniversary is a major event nearly every five years; this particular anniversary, was no exception, as the audience was eager to welcome a foreign president that has been widely supported here since the election campaigns, and continues to be.

My supervisor and president of the Nantes-Seattle Sister City Association in Nantes, Mariette, having worked closely with the US Embassy in Paris previously, secured a place a few weeks in advance. Being an American citizen, I had to apply through a different process, but my invitation arrived just in time, and we set off to Caen with fellow association members Bob Destiny, a New York blues musician here in Nantes, and his wife Pauline.

The day of the big event, the TV and radio covered all the events in Caen, where jeeps and flags lined the streets as if it was the Liberation all over again. As invitees, however, we had a strict schedule to keep. When we arrived at the shuttles at the end of Caen, the French gendarmerie presence was strong- there were gendarmes nearly ever other meter along the route, even peering out of the ferns! Despite the time consumed by passing through security, everyone was in good spirits and eager to attend the ceremony.

The cemetery itself was very moving- I found it difficult to believe that such a serene site as the beaches at Colleville were the same that greeted the D-Day forces on a stormy, unforgiving early morning. Each of the over 7,000 graves were accompanied by a French and American flag in miniature, a reminder that the allied forces fought on the same ground, for the same cause. At Colleville and other American cemeteries, many French families adopt a grave and pay respects there to honor those who cannot be visited by their loved ones. Behind the main podium was a memorial representing youth, a reminder that those who had given the ultimate sacrifice did so in the prime of their life. It was also moving to see that the audience there was not just a sea of white hair, but also many young men and women there in military uniform, there to remember their predecessors. We each there also had relatives who had served or passed away in action, and were touched by the site of the cemetery itself.

With great anticipation, the official party finally arrived. Four veterans, who later in the ceremony received the Legion of Honor, accompanied each of the heads of state’s wives. Each speech in its own sense reflected the culture of its speaker, though all were there to honor the same event and the same cause. The Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Hawker spoke in both English and French with a Quebecois accent. Nicolas Sarkozy spoke at length of the enduring relationship between France and the United States with much verbosity, while it was noted that Barack Obama addressed His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, more informally as Prince Charles. All in all, however, each speech was well received, and the ceremony was a great success, bearing witness both to the endurance of the relationships between the alliances since the war and to the hope for their future. My humble hope is that as Young Ambassador of Seattle here in Nantes, I, too, may carry on the relationship of goodwill between our two nations.