On our tour of Normandy, if yesterday was "Saving Private Ryan" today is "Band of Brothers". Our first stop was the Dead Man's Corner museum in St Come du Mont. It's in a house that was once German para headquarters then became US para headquarters, a good place because it's positioned overlooking a cross-roads. The museum itself was nothing much, but it did feature Easy Company memoribilia (as well as a gift shop full of both genuine and replica militaria). The town itself is featured in a PC game "Brothers in Arms" - and the Vol-in-Law was finally able to crouch in person behind walls that previously he had only quaked beneath virtually. We met a fellow who appeared to be at least a bit eccentric - though it's hrd to tell when you can only understand 1 in 10 of the words he was saying. His only English was the opening lines of the Star Spangled Banner. He asked us our nationality - and couldn't have cared less about the ViL's "Anglais", but was genuinely enthusiastic about my "Americaine". It's been a while since that has happened to me in Europe. Apparently the town had received the genrosity of an American woman whose son had fought there (and lived - as far as I understand). It was she who taught him the words of the American national anthem when he was a small boy.
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