D-Day and Draguignan

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I remember most of the big dates- Dec. 7, 1941; Aug. 15, 1944; Aug. 7, 1945; Nov. 22, 1963 but I had never heard of this one- Aug. 19, 1944. That was the day the Allied troops began an offensive against the German army in Southern France and the Rhone Valley.

Although I've always liked history I found dates in a history book flat and boring. I've never had a desire to go to Normandy and observe where the D-Day battles began. But on this day as part of my trip I followed others out of the bus and within several steps I was in the middle of the Rhone American Cemetery.

On Aug. 15, 1944 several divisions of the US Seventh Army plus French armor landed on the Riviera beaches, supported by British, French, Greek, and Polish ships. This was Operation Dragoon. Once the D-Day operation triumphed, Dragon was put into action. The immediate objective was to secure the port cities of Toulon and Marseille thus isolating German forces. The operation was a success. In one month the U.S. Forces had traveled 400 miles and successfully connected with the Allied forces from Normandy thus isolating the rest of the German troops in So.France.

Today, 861 American soldiers are buried on site. They are from every state except No. Dakota but include the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. There are also 294 soldiers missing in action. Their names are inscribed upon the Wall of the Missing. Private Larrie Tipton from Tennessee of the 15th Infantry Regiment was killed by enemy fire soon after landing ashore on Aug. 15, 1944.

Overlooking the graves is a large Angel of Peace sculpture with the inscription "We who lie here died that future generations might live in peace."

After a tour and a description of the cemetery we had time to wander around. On one grave there was a large flower arrangement. I walked towards it and read on the card that it was a gift from Grand Circle Travel- the company I was traveling with. I was happy to think that in some small way a part of my trip fee was remembering these soldiers who rest so far away from their families and the country they fought to keep free.

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Photos

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Landing and march

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Cemetery

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Angel of Peace

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Bronze depiction of battle plan

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

French history
So many moments are shared history-- French and U.S. A bond forever in some ways.

[Toni Miller]

D-Day and Draguignan
One of our daughters, her husband, and sons visited that area a few years ago. Very powerful impact.