Késsinnimek - Roots - Racines
Mon Petit Coin by Norm Léveillée
As a follow-up to Juliana's story about a Franco-American hero in World War II, here's my story. An heroic French family of World War II
"My cousin Alcide Léveilléee was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division which parachuted behind enemy lines at the start of D-Day operations. His unit landed in the village of Ste-Mère Église. One of his buddy parachutists got stuck on the church tower and spent a very uncomfortable night suspended from this tower. A stained-glass window inside the church honors American paratroopers. Several others paratroopers never made it alive to hit the ground and do what they were supposed to do. Luckily, Al made it safely to the ground. However, he along with several other Americans were quickly surrounded and captured. They were put into a makeshift prison, probably in the town hall or local school. The prisoners were fed by the French of that village who came across the bridge to the prison each day. In the evening the men of Ste-Mère Église would come to the prison with bread, wine and oftentimes a stew or simply vegetables. Since my cousin was Franco-Canadian-American, he spoke French. He learned English, like myself, in the local parish school, the same school that all of us attended who lived in Harris Village, Rhode Island. He became the interpreter for the rest of his buddies in that unit.
My cousin Al was able to escape however. As the story goes, one evening four Frenchmen came into the prison to feed the prisoners. Five left the prison, one of them, my cousin who spoke boldly to his German captor in French, thanking him for allowing the townspeople to feed the prisoners. Al hid in the basement of the home of his rescuer. He stayed there until the Americans who had landed on the Normandy beaches advanced into that village, pushing back the enemy. He was quickly rescued and was sent home to recover from a wound inflicted on the descent. Cousin Al was relunctant to speak about his mission, except for the family who saved his life back there. However, he was very thankful to his parents who had spoken French to him in our village, which saved his life.
I was fortunate to visit the village of Ste-Mère Église. I visited the picturesque market square, church, and streets where American paratroopers landed in a hail of gunfire. A parachute has been attached to the roof of the church and special stained-glass panes inserted in the chapel, commemorating this heroic commando action. The museum is a dramatic exhibition about the night the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions dropped from the sky. This museum is built on the market square, that US paratroopers tried to capture on the eve of the Normandy invasion. Ste-Mère's symbolic importance as the first French town to be liberated from the Nazis is commemorated by the Borne 0 (Zero) outside the Town Hall -- a large, domed milestone marking the start of the Voie de la Liberté (Freedom Way), charting the Allies' progress across France.
During my visit there, I met some people who remembered their heroic American rescuers. I spoke about the rescue of my cousin from the prison by his heroic Frenchmen. I thanked these people in the name of my uncle Joseph, my aunt Eva and most importantly my cousin Alcide. I lost touch with my cousin since he moved from our area to California where he died in 1979. However, his father, my uncle Joseph, lived with us for a while. "Mon oncle Jo" was fond of telling me this heroic WW II story about his only son, my cousin Alcide Léveillée.
Postcript, written on June 6, 2004:
I will remember my cousin Alcide on this 60th Anniversary of the D-Day Landing because he was one of our soldiers that fought for our freedom and for that of France and Europe. My thanks to you, cousin Alcide!Amitiés & Zôbi Widôbaid & Métañdossañtz8añgan & Nidi-nwendaginag,
NormKéssinnimek - Roots - Racines
Copyright © 2003 & 2004 Norm Léveillée
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Created 1 Feb 2003
