Eagles of Mercy

Produced by the Army Pictorial Center.

Presented by the United States Army in cooperation with this station.

This is the face of compassion.

Henri Dunant, a Swiss businessman, founded the International Red Cross Movement and brought mercy to the battlefields of war.

During our First World War, The Great War as they called it then, ambulance sections were staffed and supplied for the army.

Nurses were recruited, hospitals were organized, a wounded mans chances fo recovery for survival depend in large measure on how soon he reaches the hospital surgeons.

Begun in January 1941, at the request of the Army and Navy, the Red Cross Blood Program expanded enormously after Pearl Harbor.

Blood donations rose to 100,000 each week, saving an incalculable number of servicemen's lives.

The Army medic, with his bottle of life saving blood or serum, became a battlefield symbol.

[ church bell ringing ] Narrator: Each June in Normandy, France, people crowd inside a small 12th Century Norman church in the tiny village of Angoville-au-Plain.

[ singing prayer ] Narrator: Men, women and children come from all over to honor the memory of what occurred in this house of worship, beginning on June 6, 1944, as the liberation of Western Europe began.

One of the smallest communities in Normandy, Angoville is located off the main road running from Sainte-Marie-du-Mont near the English Channel, inland to the town of Carentan.

Angoville's appearance hasn't changed much since World War II began.

In fact, the village looks pretty much the same as it did several centuries ago.

Those who fill this church today aren't here to glorify war or celebrate victory in battle of the German army.

Their pilgrimage every year to this rural setting pays homage to the incredible efforts of two young American paratroopers who had the mission of saving lives on D-Day, not taking them.

Construction on the church in Angoville began in the 12th Century.

Whoever ruled the area after that left their own stamp on this ancient stone building.

In the summer of 1940, it was a conquering German army who enjoyed control of Normandy's beautiful shoreline, as well as the majority of France's other cities and towns.

During this time of Nazi rule, the roughly 90 residents of Angoville went about their daily lives, which was primarily spent tending to their Norman cattle and farming the local fields.

The villagers, for the most part, were unaffected by the German presence.

"The Boche," as the French called the Germans, occupied more strategic locations in Normandy's larger villages and towns, instead of small, rural hamlets.

Angoville was not a priority.

Not yet anyway... Announcer: Enlistment in th armed forces is their answer to Japan's dastardly attack.

Narrator: By late 1941, the United States had entered World War II and Americans were signing up for the fight by the hundreds of thousands.

Seventeen year old, Californian, Kenneth Moore and eighteen year old Ohioan, Robert Wright, joined the army in the fall of 1942.

Wright, who has battled health issues in recent years and more, volunteered for paratrooper training.

I volunteered for the paratroops and they sent me to Georgia.

And the Major that was in charge of the medical detachment selected me to be a medic.

Narrator: Instead of being issued rifles, Private Ken Moore and Technician Fifth Grade, Corporal Bob Wright were handed white armbands with red crosses on them.

They also received medical kits, which included morphine, sulfa powder, bandages and small surgical instruments.

The Army Airborne decided Moore and Wright would start formal training to become medics.

They would join thousands of others wearing Red Cross armbands on D-Day.

Other young paratroopers, like Al Mampre, Ed Pepping, Fred Morgan and Allison Blaney, found themselves in a similar situation.

They would treat wounds, not inflict them.

Went to basic and they said, "Here, you're going to be a medic."

No... [ laughs ] No choice whatsoever.

And during basic, we had half a day of medical training and the other half was infantry training.

Being a medic, I think my focus was a lot different than the infantry men was.

And that I was more interested in what's happening to a person that happened to be wounded than wounding someone.

And I wasn't looking at the... If the enemy was there and wounded, I would've taken care of them too.

But a person, here's a human being that's hurting and that was my focus.

To see what I could do to help them.

The hardest part was seeing people die that you couldn't save, you know?

I think we saved many lives and many lives we couldn't save.

All we could do was administer first aid, that's the limit of equipment we had at the time.

Kenneth Moore and Robert Wright were assigned to the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, one of three regiments that would eventually make up the 101st Airborne Division.

It was at Camp Toccoa in Georgia in late 1942 where Ken Moore and Bob Wright met for the first time.

Man, it was very violent training, it was very rough.

They washed out about three for everyone that stayed there.

And then we went to parachute school and made our five qualifying jumps at parachute school.

Narrator: Both teenagers would head into battle carrying only a small amount of medical supplies and no weapons.

If that wasn't enough, both would have to get into the fight by jumping out of an airplane.

It sounded glamorous, an extra 50 bucks and parachute boots attracted the girls, so we thought that was pretty neat.

And we didn't realize that we're going to be expected to jump out of an airplane.

That never entered my mind.

We trained mainly in first aid.

And our training and our job, essentially, was to stop the bleeding and administer morphine for pain and bandage up the casualties as best we could and get them back to the aid station.

After additional medic and infantry training at other army camps, Ken Moore and Bob Wright arrived at Lawson General Hospital in Atlanta for more medical instruction in 1943.

Wright stayed at the facility roughly two months, Moore just a couple of weeks.

In January of 1944, Robert Wright, Kenneth Moore and the rest of the 2nd Battalion of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, left the United States for England aboard the U.S.S.

George Goethals.

In Great Britain, there was more paratrooper training as the Allies prepared for what everyone knew was coming... The invasion of Western Europe.

Kenneth Moore: England was loaded with equipment and troops.

We made two night jumps in lots of fields, mainly to give the officers training and controlling large groups of men.

Narrator: In the winter of 1944, as the Allies made plans to open a second front in the West, the Germans in Normandy finally began moving troops into Angoville and other smaller villages that had previously been ignored.

Well respected German Field Marshal, Erwin Rommel, was in charge of preparing the French coast as a possible invasion site.

German soldiers and workers arriving in Angoville immediately began moving into the homes and farms of local villagers.

Allied bombing missions over Normandy picked up considerably in the spring of 1944.

And Angoville, though small, suffered some damage.

In May, the church steeple in the village became an observation post for German soldiers.

It was also around the same time that 4,400 German paratroopers moved into the area.

The 6th Fallschirmjger Regiment was one of Rommel's most trusted and elite units.

They were young and combat tested.

By late May of 1944, 19 year old Kenneth Moore and 20 year old Robert Wright and thousands of other soldiers of the 2nd Battalion of the 501st, now attached to the 101st Airborne Division, were sealed off from the rest of the world in a military camp in Somerset, England.

Narrator: Both young medics assigned to D-Company knew something big was about to happen.

After a postponement because of bad weather, the 501st got the word they would be heading for France late on the night of June 5th.

The paratroopers would jump into the fight ahead of the main amphibious landing force, scheduled to hit the Normandy beaches at daybreak on June 6th.

It was about two days before the invasion that they showed us the sand tables and gave us a briefing and told us what to expect.

Narrator: The 501st was given an inspirational sendoff from Merryfield Airbase by their commander, Colonel Howard "Jumpy" Johnson.

Kenneth: He was a very dynamic leader and he had been training us now for a year and a half.

Back at their inland bases other G.I.

's were getting ready to push on.

The paratroops in the Airborne.

Just when a guy's figured ou the deal on pounds and shillings along comes francs and centimes.

The stuff went fast... Maybe the boys figured they wouldn't be finding many bars or shops open for business.

Kenneth: We were probably as good as any unit in the army at that time and we were ready to go and he got us really geared up.

We were in a marshalling area, we were sealed in there, you couldn't get out, and they gave us a wonderful meal.

We had steak and eggs and stuff that was unheard of in our mess halls.

Narrator: The engines of more than 900 C-47 planes came to life around Southern England late in the evening on June 5th.

13,000 paratroopers of the 101st and 82nd Airborne were on their way to Normandy.

Their mission was to secure bridges and roads, and prevent German counterattacks from disrupting the seabourn landings along an American sector codenamed "Utah Beach," scheduled for 6:30 am.

We realized that we were going to be the tip of the spear when the invasion came and we were all anticipating how we would react to people shooting at us.

Narrator: In the village of Angoville, about a quarter mile west of what was designated drop zone D for Ken Moore, Bob Wright and the rest of the 501st paratroopers.

All was quiet on the evening of June 5th.

The calm would not last long.

In the area around Angoville, the German Sixth Parachute Regiment was on anti-invasion training maneuvers in the fields.

Over the English Channel, medic Ken Moore, aboard a C-47 named "The Round Trip" had a direct view below him of the more than 5,000 Allied ships heading for the Normandy coast.

Kenneth: I looked out the door and saw all the boats headed for France.

It looked encouraging.

We weren't alone.

Narrator: Things started to heat up for Moore and his fellow paratroopers once their plane arrived over the French coast.

The Germans were waiting for us, they had been expecting us the night before.

And they were all ready with all their anti-aircraft artillery.

So we were maybe five minutes of just solid anti-aircraft fire, rifle fire would hit us at that altitude.

So we were really anxious to get out of that airplane.

Narrator: Drop zone D for the 501st paratroopers was the Southernmost of the 101st Airborne's landing zones on D-Day.

Robert Wright was the first D-company medic to jump into Normandy in the early morning darkness on June 6th, landing in a field about 600 yards north of Angoville sometime between 1:30 and 2 am.

Wright headed south, finally spotting the church steeple in Angoville.

He arrived in the village around 3am on D-Day, it was dark out and quiet.

Ken Moore's arrival in drop zone D, around the same time as Bob Wright, was more nerve-racking.

Moore was the last man in his C-47 to jump over the drop zone in Normandy.

His plane was so low that his chute barely had time to open before he landed.

When Moore did, he found himself in the water.

Kenneth: In the Normandy jump, I was the eighteenth man in the aircraft, and by the time I got out I think we were down to about 300 feet.

My parachute just barely opened and I landed in the water.

Narrator: The Germans had flooded many of the fields behind Utah Beach, something Allied intelligence failed to notice in pre-invasion arial photographs.

Kenneth: And there's about three feet of water where I landed.

And so, that cushioned my landing shock.

There was a lot of fighting, a lot of rifle fire, a lot of Germans around there.

There's no substitute for hearing a bullet snap past your head.

And you realize that someone's trying to kill you and you can't explain or put into words how that feels, but it forever changes you.

You're never quite the same.

Angoville resident, Genevieve Marie, was 10 years old on D-Day and still has vivid memories of the early morning hours of the attack.

We saw all of the paratroopers.

They came down all around the village.

I still see them coming into our house to see my dad.

All their faces blackened in everything.

Narrator: Like Robert Wright before him, Kenneth Moore's first view of Angoville was the church steeple.

Earlier that morning in darkness, Robert Wright determined the best place to set up an aid station for wounded Americans would be in Angoville's 12th Century Norman church.

He immediately put a Red Cross flag on the door.

The way they scattered us on the drop, neither of our doctors showed up, so Bob Wright and I were the only two medics that assembled in this area around the church at Angoville.

Narrator: On his way into Angoville, Ken Moore treated several Americans.

Around 3am, Moore found Robert Wright inside the church.

The two medics quickly agreed that the wooden pews in the church would work well as beds and treatment tables for the wounded, a few of which Moore brought with him.

The sun had still not risen in Normandy on June 6, 1944, and already the first casualties of D-Day were being treated in the new aid station.

And there were some jump casualties... Broken legs and back injuries and then the combat casualties.

But they trickled in and the ones that couldn't walk, we went out and got them.

Narrator: Moore and Wright were joined inside the church in Angoville at daybreak by Lieutenant Edward Allworth of the 501st, who, for a short time, helped bring in some of the wouned from nearby fields.

Narrator: The fight around Angoville began to heat up as first light broke on D-Day around 6:15 am.

Narrator: Both German infantry and paratroops, and American paratroopers and engineers of the 101st Airborne Division held parts of the village.

The area outside the church changed hands several times.

Robert Wright had more medical training than Ken Moore, so he would often stay behind and care for those in the church, while Moore ventured out into the local fields and hedgerows looking for wounded soldiers.

The medics knew it didn't matter if they were American or German, they would try and save as many lives as they could.

Bob and I started rounding up casualties and we used a farm cart to transport the wounded that couldn't walk.

One of the first casualties that I took care of was a man named Loose, and he had gotten a whole burst of machine gun fire in his right arm, it was just shredded.

I put a tourniquet on and gave him a shot of morphine.

So, I had a piece of parachute silk and I put him on the parachute silk and dragged him down the road to where I could get him into the cart and I took him back to the church.

Narrator: Inside the church, Robert Wright moved up and down the pews treating the wounded, giving out cups of water, calming those in shock.

All during this time, bullets were hitting the church, and mortar rounds were shaking the roof.

But Wright kept his calm.

Narrator: Eventually, the Germans themselves started bringing a few of their own wounded into the aid station.

They had already witnessed the American medics caring for soldiers from both sides out in the nearby fields and hedgerows.

They were young men much like us, except they were wearing a different uniform.

Narrator: At some point on D-Day, a German soldier carrying an MG-42 machine gun burst into the church.

Seeing wounded men from both armies being treated, he lowered his gun, made a sign of the cross and left.

Focused on their job inside, Moore and Wright had no idea who was winning the fight.

The pews on both sides of the aisle were filling up fast.

The American medics began to run low on supplies.

We didn't have any plasma.

We didn't - On the jump we had medical supply bags that were dropped, but we weren't able to recover any of those, so all we had was the aid kit that we had dropped with.

Narrator: There wasn't much room in the church, so casualties were also placed on the floor.

Kenneth: We tried to - the ones who were pretty badly wounded, we got into the pews.

And the rest of them were sitting in the pews and up on the altar.

Narrator: Gravely wounded soldiers were moved towards the altar of the church.

Bob Wright determined those that weren't going to live would be placed in a room behind the altar.

Narrator: On occasion, Robert Wright would join Ken Moore in searching Angoville's surrounding fields for wounded.

The Americans only protection out in the open was their Red Cross armbands and the hope that the rules of war would be honored when it came to letting medics do their work.

Kenneth: They told us that there was a casualty about 100 yards away from the church, a serious leg wound, and there was a big, wide area that we had to cross, so I told Bob, I said, "get your armband out where they can see it."

We walked out and everybody stopped firing and we staggered across the plaza there and into the church and then the firing picked up again.

The Germans were pretty good about not shooting at medics, there were several times they could've shot me and they didn't.

And we didn't shoot at the German medics, so it was sort of an agreement.

Sometimes Moore and Wright used the farm cart, other times they picked up the wounded and physically carried or helped them back to the church.

Narrator: On the afternoon of June 6th, Rommel's elite German paratroopers of the Sixth Regiment started to gain the upper hand in Angoville.

For the church to stay a sanctuary for the wounded on both sides, Robert Wright set up guidelines both American and German soldiers would now have to follow.

Kenneth: Well, he wanted it to be an aid station and if the Germans came in, well, they wouldn't consider it a fighting situation.

Narrator: Rule number one was that no guns would be allowed inside the church at any time.

All weapons had to be stacked by the door.

No matter how the battle was going outside, inside the church there would be no shooting.

I don't believe there was any real animosity expressed and I don't recall anybody wanting to shoot or murder anything.

Narrator: Mortar rounds and artillery fire were also a challenge for the two medics as they went about their work.

Late in the afternoon on June 6th, a German round hit the roof of the church.

Ken Moore was standing directly under where it hit.

Kenneth: About late in the afternoon I took my helmet off and I was standing in the middle of the church and all of the sudden there was a big crash.

A mortar shell hit the roof of the church and a big chunk of plaster came down and banged me in the scalp and split my scalp open.

It wasn't really a serious wound, but it bled quite a bit.

That's why I got my Purple Heart.

I was embarrassed to take it.

Narrator: Later, a second German shell crashed through the roof of the church, hitting this spot on the floor, leaving cracks that remain today.

The round was a dud.

Bob Wright tossed it out the window.

A live mortar likely would've killed everyone in the aid station.

The shelling did knock out all the original stained glass windows in the church, several of which dated back hundreds of years.

By sunset on June 6th, around 10:30pm, the church was packed with soldiers, mostly wounded Americans, along with several German paratroopers.

Kenneth: They were all grateful for the help that they were getting and relieved that they were still alive, and realizing it was a difficult situation and they all did the best they could under the circumstances.

Narrator: Bandages were everywhere, blood was soaking the wooden pews and centuries old stone floor.

Early in the evening on June 6th, the German paratroopers finally pushed the 101st Airborne out of Angoville.

Before leaving, an American officer quickly gave Kenneth Moore and Robert Wright the option of pulling back with the other U.S.

paratroopers.

Both declined and opted to stay in the church and care for all of the wounded from both sides.

By now, the aid station was filled to capacity.

Kenneth: And by the time that the sun went down, our officers came in and told us that they couldn't hold the church, that they were going to have to pull back.

And they wanted one of us to stay with the wounded.

So, Bob and I looked at each other and said, "we better both stay."

Narrator: Just minutes later, German soldiers overran the village and set up outside the church.

Soon after the American paratroopers pulled out on June 6th, a German officer and two soldiers entered the Angoville church to size up the situation.

Kenneth: They were German paratroopers and they all stood there with sub-machine guns.

And several of our people had .45 automatics under their parachute cover.

And I was really concerned that they were going to take a shot at the Germans and that would've been dodge city, but, nobody did and the German, one of them could speak English, and I told him that we didn't have a doctor.

And we had a couple of German casualties in there, and so, he looked around and said that he would get a doctor in for us as soon as he could, probably in the morning.

Narrator: Satisfied with what they saw, the Germans allowed the American medics to carry on with their life saving work.

Villager Genevieve Marie remembers the chaos in Angoville at that time.

So, that's when we left.

There were a lot of us.

Two families in our small house.

And so, that's when we went into the trench.

The Americans told us we had to leave, we had to get out of that trench.

The Germans were coming and the Americans made us move.

We found shelter in the farm.

There were 53 of us.

Narrator: Robert Wright and Kenneth Moore worked inside the church into the early hours of June 7th, D-Day plus one, without much sleep.

Narrator: Outside, the situation in Angoville was changing once again... The American Fourth Infantry Division and other 101st Airborne paratroopers were moving inland from Utah Beach and the surrounding area.

The overwhelmed Germans began pulling out of Angoville to set up a defensive line in another nearby location.

It was then that a second, much more agitated German soldier entered the church.

He was wounded and bleeding badly.

He was also confident that his men would return soon and re-take the village.

The German argued loudly with Robert Wright about having to leave his weapon outside.

He finally gave in and his gun, like the rest, was left by the door.

After another heated argument, the German officer reluctantly also allowed the American medics to treat his wounds.

Narrator: During the morning of June 7th, more artillery rounds landed in Angoville.

The shelling shook the church and convinced two young German soldiers, who had been hiding in the centuries old belfry since D-Day began, thought this would be a good time to come down and surrender.

The Germans, most likely artillery spotters, offered to help Ken Moore and Bob Wright care for the wounded.

We didn't realize that there were a couple of Krauts up in the attic there - in the steeple.

And they stayed up there, didn't come down until the next day.

They were just a couple of kids, they were scared.

I think they were just hiding up there, I don't think they had a radio or anything.

Narrator: On the afternoon of June 7th, American troops advanced on Angoville, lead by a tank firing its 50 caliber machine gun at the church.

Bob Wright and others quickly made the tank crew aware they were firing on an aid station.

And the shooting stopped.

Sporadic fighting around the village continued through D-Day plus one.

Late in the afternoon of June 7th, around 4pm, the situation in the village began to calm down.

The vicious back and forth battle in this part of Normandy was wrapping up.

The American paratroopers had solidified their grip on the village, forcing the remaining German paratroopers and other soldiers to retreat.

Narrator: Even in victory, maintaining the sanctity of the aid station in the church remained a priority for Robert Wright.

The Corporal from Ohio denied repeated requests from an American Lieutenant to use the steeple as an observation post, as the Germans themselves had done prior to June 6th.

By late in the afternoon on June 7th, no more wounded from either side were being brought to the church.

That was the time medic Ken Moore decided he would leave the aid station in Angoville to rejoin his fellow D-Company soldiers down the road.

That was the big relief.

For me, it was that these guys would be taken down to the beach and get professional attention.

Narrator: Robert Wright would stay behind in the church until all the wounded, American and German, could be evacuated to Utah Beach.

Wright didn't know it at the time, but there would be one more wounded person arriving soon in the church.

In two days of fighting in the area, a local family with the last name "Langeard," had been devastated.

Four of their children had been killed, along with both parents, all innocent victims of the battle around Angoville.

13 year old, Paul Langeard was the only survivor of his family of seven.

The teenager was found bleeding by the side of the road by American troops and brought to the aid station on the morning of June 8th.

Robert Wright was in the church supervising the evacuation of the last remaining wounded soldiers.

The teenage boy was attended to by Wright in one of the same pews that had, until just recently, been a place for wounded American and German paratroopers.

Narrator: Nobody knew who the local boy was.

He was treated by Wright and then left alone in the village square, as Americans left Angoville-au-Plain and carried the fight elsewhere into Normandy.

No, it took many years for him to talk about it.

The only living member of a family of seven.

Narrator: Robert Wright was one of the last to leave the village around mid-day on June 8th.

Narrator: Before leaving, the American medic took one final look inside the church to remember the scene.

A last glance was only fitting, considering this holy place had been a sanctuary for 36 hours while all hell had raged around it.

Over 80 soldiers, including a dozen or so Germans, had been treated by Private Kenneth Moore and Corporal Robert Wright since the aid station was set up early in the morning on June 6th.

Two Americans had died inside the church, their wounds too severe to be treated.

Narrator: 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment medics, Bob Wright and Ken Moore, had done what they were trained to do on D-Day; save lives.

It didn't matter to them what uniform the soldier wore.

Moore and Wright accomplished their mission in a setting and situation no one could've ever imagined when plans for the invasion of Normandy were drawn up.

[ trumpet playing "Taps."

] Narrator: Every year outside the centuries old church in Angoville, a ceremony immediately follows the special mass held inside.

World War II veterans and others walk a short distance to a monument honoring two men and their actions on D-Day and the days following the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe.

We are meeting in front of thi monument to honor the actions of our medic friends, Robert Wright and Kenneth Moore.

As we recall each time, this monument is not only a mark of appreciation to these men and their actions, this monument is also a place where we celebrate the memory of our liberators.

Of all those who have fallen or have suffered from war.

All of those who were so disciplined at the threshold of their lives.

Narrator: Robert Wright and Kenneth Moore's presence lives on in this village today.

Newly replaced stained glass windows in the church honor medics Moore and Wright and the "Screaming Eagle" paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division, who liberated Angoville.

On this day, the 68th anniversary of D-Day, we, the inhabitants of Angoville-au-Plain, have the immense privilege that our friends and veterans, Robert Wright an Kenneth Moore are still with us.

Unfortunately, they have not been able to make the long journey to join us, but they are still here with us in spirit.

For this ceremony, we express our sincere, unwavering and eternal gratitude.

Thank you for being here today to honor our veterans for their heroic actions on D-Day, 1944.

Thousands gave their lives in a fight for freedom on June 6, 1944.

I am humble to be here today to honor our veterans, both living and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

The United States of America will not forget the sacrifices made by so many.

This monument is dedicated t all those who came, who gave so much to all those who suffered, who cried, so that we could become a free people.

For those who have given s much, who have suffered so much, the worst thing would be to be forgotten.

It is our duty to pay tribute to the memory that lives on.

and we will pass this memory to the younger generations and those to come.

To make the Second World War forever the last.

Our gathering today i reassuring and we are surrounded by many young people ready to take the torch of humanities.

Kenneth: I thought that was amazing and that was going to be there for the forseeable future and that Bob and I are just a couple of Privates in the service got recognition that I don't believe we deserve, but... that's the way it was.

And I thought that was pretty nice.

I think the reason it's gotten attention now is that we weren't involved in killing, we weren't trigger pullers.

I tell my grandchildren my role in the war, I was there as sort of an observer, I wasn't a rifleman killing people.

And I was there in one of the big historical events of our century.

D-Day is a given.

You say "D-Day" to someone, they know what you're talking about.

And I was there, and I got a front row seat and it was pretty unique.

Angoville Mayor Daniel Hamchin is one of those most responsible for preserving the story and the message that still resonates in this church today.

During a war a long time ago, this part of Norman history, dating back to the 12th Century, served as a sanctuary for men who needed a place that offered peace and healing.

I think this church, with its blood stains and all, we have to preserve everything there is in this church.

We can never thank them enough, never ever.

The members of Angoville-au-Plain are very honored to have met them.

Narrator: Kenneth Moore first returned to Angoville in 1972 and most recently in 2004.

Robert Wright started coming back in 1999.

Both recognize that their actions in this church have become part of the fabric of Normandy's history.

A monument to their courage and humanity stands only yards away from the church.

Today, many of the scars of the fight from June 1944 remain.

One just has to look up or down to visualize the fierce battle that went on in this village.

However, the most important symbol that remains inside this sacred church today is found on the wooden pews that once supported so many soldiers who came into this aid station, seeking healing hands.

Varnished over, but still very much visible seven decades after the fight passed through Angoville, are the blood stains of both American and German soldiers.

They remain an enduring representation of compassion, and above all, the value of each human life.

Even in a time of World War.

It's beautiful.

They are beautiful liberators, right?

They suffered a lot.

For me, it's a joy.

It's a pleasure to open this church to Americans.

All these soldiers, be it German or American, that were healed here, it's very touching, it's very warm to the heart.

They would kill each other in the cemetary and they would heal each other in the church.

Dear Howard, we're back in home port now for our first real rest since D-Day.

Today, that saw the beginning o the greatest crusade in history, the freeing of an enslaved Europe.

And thousands of young Americans helped open that road to liberation.

Every hour more are returning from the Normandy beachhead.

Many of them on stretchers.

Some are shipmates of the Coast Guardsman in this barracks.

It's hard to forget that.

It's even harder to forget the others who will never come back to us.

During those next violent days while we were fighting to extend our gains, thousands of men an vast quantities of supplies and equipment were shuttled in from the sea.

We landed more medical field units.

The severely wounded were carried to the relative safety of outlying hospital ships and transports.

The two-way traffic never stopped.

The wounded going out, the ever-growing tired of more men and material pouring in.

When the enemy had been pushed back from the beaches, the mammoth LST's came lumbering ashore with their tons of heavy equipment.

Our beachhead to barrel in was established.