Editor's note: The following was supplied by Daryl Rausch, Monroe fire chief, as a recollection of Memorial Day.
By Daryl Rausch
Monroe
Thirty-five years ago today (May 24, 2014), I was at The Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France. Back then each branch of the service rotated annually in placing flags at the cemetery each year.
I was selected, as so often happens, by chance; I was stationed at an air base near Madrid, Spain and had stopped by the office at the beginning of my three days off (we worked three days on/three off 12-hour shifts). When walking past the chief's office at an opportune moment, Chief Washington barked "Rausch, get in here" and I was assigned to a team of members to fly to France to place flags on the graves of the fallen American service members buried there. Six other members were chosen from various squadrons on base and early on the morning of May 24, 1979 we left our base along with two officers and cases and cases small of American flags.
On the way there in a C-130, we were given instructions on how to place the flag; Put the toe of your boot, never the heel, against the tombstone, using your right hand place the flag behind the heel of your boot, render a hand salute and move on to the next grave.
We landed in France and were driven by truck, a French Air Force Citroën truck I believe, to the cemetery. Once there we met up with USAF members from another base in England and about 20 French Air Force members who were just finishing up removing all the old flags from the previous year. This was another tradition, that the host country would remove the old flags in much the same way we would place them. They would salute; remove the flag and then move on to the next. I was also struck by the many remembrances and flowers placed by family members and the French people.
After introductions, the group of us assigned to place flags went to work and placed more than 94,00 flags over a nearly 14-hour period while our officers managed the process by marking off each area on maps as we completed them.
One lady we met led a group of about 15 people who made sandwiches and lunch for all the French and American airmen that day and said she remembered the D-Day invasion as she was a young girl then.
The French airmen prepared a formal flag burning ceremony at noon for all the grave flags which had been removed and many local residents attended the ceremony as did we.
I placed more than 600 flags that day and now all these years later it still stands as one of the most memorable days of my military service.
Please keep all those you served, in your thoughts and prayers.
By Daryl Rausch
Monroe
Thirty-five years ago today (May 24, 2014), I was at The Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France. Back then each branch of the service rotated annually in placing flags at the cemetery each year.
I was selected, as so often happens, by chance; I was stationed at an air base near Madrid, Spain and had stopped by the office at the beginning of my three days off (we worked three days on/three off 12-hour shifts). When walking past the chief's office at an opportune moment, Chief Washington barked "Rausch, get in here" and I was assigned to a team of members to fly to France to place flags on the graves of the fallen American service members buried there. Six other members were chosen from various squadrons on base and early on the morning of May 24, 1979 we left our base along with two officers and cases and cases small of American flags.
On the way there in a C-130, we were given instructions on how to place the flag; Put the toe of your boot, never the heel, against the tombstone, using your right hand place the flag behind the heel of your boot, render a hand salute and move on to the next grave.
We landed in France and were driven by truck, a French Air Force Citroën truck I believe, to the cemetery. Once there we met up with USAF members from another base in England and about 20 French Air Force members who were just finishing up removing all the old flags from the previous year. This was another tradition, that the host country would remove the old flags in much the same way we would place them. They would salute; remove the flag and then move on to the next. I was also struck by the many remembrances and flowers placed by family members and the French people.
After introductions, the group of us assigned to place flags went to work and placed more than 94,00 flags over a nearly 14-hour period while our officers managed the process by marking off each area on maps as we completed them.
One lady we met led a group of about 15 people who made sandwiches and lunch for all the French and American airmen that day and said she remembered the D-Day invasion as she was a young girl then.
The French airmen prepared a formal flag burning ceremony at noon for all the grave flags which had been removed and many local residents attended the ceremony as did we.
I placed more than 600 flags that day and now all these years later it still stands as one of the most memorable days of my military service.
Please keep all those you served, in your thoughts and prayers.