Ben,
Of course we remember Irma!  I felt like we became close in such a short period of time, to all the nice people we met in Belgium & France.  With all the escorting Irma & Arnold gave us, I felt like we knew them for so much longer than a few days!  Thanks so much for sending Irma's story.  Yes, the memory of a child is a different viewpoint & I'm sure she was told many things in the following year, so it is so important to get all that down on paper.  I am going to read it to the kids.

I want to let you know that the trip to Belgium & France was such a great experience for our family.  I am so glad that myself & the kids were able to go.  I know that my feelings and view of WWII have been heightened, to say the least.  It is only talked about now & then here, but I felt like it is woven into the fabric of the lives of people in Europe.  How can it not be.  But I was so humbled by the welcome & appreciation that the people showed you & all the other "boys."  I think it was great for the kids to see you with the other soldiers of WWII.  They would talk amongst each other in our car rides about all of you.  There is a definite pride they feel now, that they never had before.  It's so important for any grandchild to see their grandfather in a way they never imagined.  And no, Paul, the kids told their teachers a little something different about what they did this summer...not so much about the mannequin pis!

We were able to see so much & meet so many great people in just 10 days!  From all the wonderful people we met in Belgium...not only did Eddy, Irma, Arnold, Eddy, Leon & Maria bring us to so many memorials dedicated to the US soldiers of the 517th, they shared stories of their own & introduced us to people at a special lunch who also shared their stories...when they share their personal stories, it becomes so much more real, not just a few pages in a history book at school.  I certainly did not speak French in any sense of the word & they knew some English, but it's amazing how much you can communicate & laugh with each other while trying! 
The trip to Sospel & the few days we spent there were so special.  The kids loved seeing the Alps on the plane, seeing the Mediterranean for the first time & laughing at me white knuckling the winding roads... I loved the feeling of sitting in the Hotel de France with the shutters open to the summer night...hearing the music in the distance!  Patricia & Roland were so wonderful to take us all in that first night for such a grand dinner, music & especially the memorial dedicated to the soldiers they made with the WWII remnants found on their property.  The people, again, who we met were so nice & gracious.  We really enjoyed spending time with them.  And it was so important learning the history of Sospel! visiting the hotel golf brought out so many more stories from you that I had never heard.  It was hard leaving there (though Casey had to leave the girls who chased him saying, je te aim?).  I have to say, listening to the stories you all told sitting pool-side in LeMuy was a great learning experience for me, too.  I can go on too long here, Ben, but I just wanted you to know that you & Bob have done a great job with the website...I know now how important it is to so many people...so glad that we took the trip with you for the 65th Anniversary of the liberation and spending time with all the family, too.

Hope to see you all soon,
KJ & crew

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