Happy Memorial Day

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived." -- General George Patton

Belgian Woman risked her life to save three American pilots in 1944

With three American pilots following her on bicycle, Paulette Childers, then 19, distracted a German officer patrolling a requisitioned hotel between Spy and Namur, Belgium.

Childers used her charm to flirt with the German officer, who confessed his love for her within minutes – while the pilots safely pedaled past the lone obstruction between them and safety.

Memorial Day was established to honor the men and women who risked their lives for America’s safety and freedom.
READ PAULETTE'S STORY

Resistance Fighter De Jongh Is Dead

Countess Andree De Jongh, who set up an escape route that helped hundreds of British airmen flee the Nazi occupation of Belgium during World War II, has died. She was 90.

De Jongh, a female nurse in a men's world of war resistance, helped found the Comet Line escape route while still in her 20s. After her arrest in 1943, she survived German camps before being liberated at the end of the war. READ ON

Happy Memorial Day All

This Memorial Day we did something very special. We visited one of the three American Cemeteries in Belgium. The Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery is a World War II cemetery where many of the 7,989 soldiers buried there lost their lives in the Battle of the Bulge from 1944 - 1945.

We attended the Memorial Day Service which began with a Fly-over of F-16s flying in the Missing Man Formation, tributes from high-ranking officials in both French and English, a wreath laying ceremony, a tribute to the WWII veterans and families in the audience, a 21-gun salute, Taps, and ended with both the Belgian and American National Anthems.

This was a great experience and walking through the almost 8000 white cross headstones was very moving.

Enjoy the photos here and have a great Memorial Day

Michele and Dave