IT’S TODAY: Memorial Day, of course. Often we hear from Elmer
DeLucia on this special day for veterans and today is no
exception.
Elmer remarks on the D-Day anniversary event he spent last year
at Normandy: “The French government honored Americans for the
freedom they received …. 30 D-Day veterans from all over the United
States were selected to be honored for the Normandy Invasion.”
“Due to Mr. Patrick Hennebique, I was one of the veterans
selected. Because Patrick was born in France, he is naturally a
citizen of France. He remembers his mother telling him how the
American soldiers had arrived in their homeland and proceeded to
protect them from the enemy.
“This he never forgot … as a young man, he traveled to various
countries, settling finally in the United States, eventually
acquiring citizenship.”
In 2009, he directed a letter to the embassy in France, stating
that since the two countries were in a more friendly state, he felt
obliged to inform them of an individual in Bradford, Pa., who had
fought in France during World War II — Elmer, of course. In due
time, a response came from France.
Mr. Hennebique came to Summer Street to pick up Elmer, drive to
Washington, D.C., plus overnight in hotel and plane to France. The
following day, he joined other elderly veterans being honored.
Ann’s wife added details about Elmer receiving the Chevalier
Medal at the Legion d’Honeur ceremony June 5 at the Hotel National
Des Invalides in Paris.
“On Saturday, Elmer DeLucia and 30 other American veterans of
the Normandy Invasion, as well as their families, were guests of
honor at Calleville, the Normandy American Cemetery and memorial
speeches by Gordon Brown, prime minister of England; Nicholas
Sarkozy, president of France; Harper, prime minister of Canada; and
U.S. President Barack Obama. This was followed by wreath laying, a
21-gun salute by a U.S. warship, Taps, and a fly over by fighter
jets from France, England and the United States and Canada.
Elmer received the Medal of Honor for his service record in the
Chemical Mortar Battalion. He was involved in five major battles,
including D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, and the liberation of
Paris.
