US Army

The Mayor's Wife

Eagle Talk

The wife of the mayor of St Mere Eglise, France, Mdme Simone Renaud, took it upon herself to tend the graves of fallen American servicemen who were buried in the two VIIth Corps cemeteries at her town and the Blosville cemetery. She placed flowers on the graves and when scores of next of kin family members contacted her, she wrote them poems and letters and included some earth from the gravesite or flower petals in the envelopes. She wrote to families all over America. This gave some tangible closure to countless families and this remarkable woman did this until she died in 1988. She wrote and answered probably thousands of letters and organized veteran return ceremonies, etc. This recent documentary records the deeds of this remarkable woman and any student of the Normandy fighting needs to watch it. Mrs Renaud was a true friend to America and she voluntarily did this duty, because she was so moved by the sacrifices of the soldiers who came thousands of miles, to liberate her country. This picture is at the grave of Gen. Theodore Roosevelt. He would have become commander of the 90th Infantry Division. texag57