In support of my ongoing research interests in the areas of emotional health and wellness of military veterans, conducted field research in the town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise (France). This was the first town in the Normandy region to be liberated on D-Day June 6, 1944. The town was made perhaps more famous by the paratrooper, John Steele, one of the American 82nd Airborne paratroopers who landed on the Church of St Mary’s tower. Steele’s parachute got caught in one of pinnacles of the tower and he hung there, pretending to be dead, for 2 hours, while his fellow paratroopers were shot. Eventually he was taken prisoner by the enemy but later escaped and rejoined his division when US troops of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment attacked a nearby village. In researching Steele’s story, I visited the Airborne Museum, and learned more about the resistance movement. Specifically, how participation in resistance activities served as a role-factor to offset distress and improve wellbeing in older adults who survived the war.
During my field research, I was also fortunate to visit Pointe du Hoc, the cliff side where roughly 225 US rangers climbed for two days facing gunfire and grenades that were dropped onto them by the Nazis. Without the work the Rangers, the Nazi weapons could have been used against advancing the US troops at Omaha and Utah beaches. Touring the museum at the visitor center and paying my respects at the American Cemetery at Normandy was a very moving experience.