"We have gone forth from our shores repeatedly over the last hundred years and ... put wonderful young men and women at risk, many of whom have lost their lives, and we have asked for nothing except enough ground to bury them in." - Colin Powell

The first letters from America started arriving at the home of Madame Simone Renaud shortly after the publication of the Life magazine article in August 1944. The article included a photo of Renaud placing flowers at the grave of Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. It noted that she was the wife of the mayor of Ste. Mere-Eglise, the first town liberated by American soldiers on D-Day.

Most of the letters were heartbreaking. One from Pennsylvania read in part: "Dear Madame ... [W]e have just received word today from the War Department that our son was buried in this cemetery, my wife has kept this issue of the magazine ever since ... [S]omething seemed to tell her that this was where our boy was buried. If I am not asking too much ... would it be possible for you to look up the grave that I am listing below and place flowers on same. ... She is heartbroken over the loss of this boy. ..."

Renaud was soon inundated with letters asking her to take care of the graves of loved ones believed to be buried in Ste. Mere-Eglise. As she read the letters, Renaud's thoughts would often turn to the terrible memories of that night when the American paratroopers descended on her town.

A macabre scene

Seizing Ste. Mere-Eglise prior to the D-Day beach landings was crucial to the Allied offensive. A German counterattack would likely use the main road that ran through the town, and the Allies were determined to hold it.

Mixed units of the American 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions had hoped to use surprise and confusion to overwhelm the German garrison there, but stray incendiary bombs set many of the town's buildings ablaze. The German soldiers and the townspeople were fully alert and fighting the fires when the paratroopers began landing among them.

The Americans were shot as they landed. Some fell into the burning buildings, and their screams could be heard above the loudly ringing church bells. Others got hung up on poles, buildings, and trees, and were shot before they could cut themselves down. Renaud's husband witnessed several Germans emptying their machine guns into one paratrooper as he hung helplessly above them. It seemed that the assault on the town would end in failure and catastrophe.

But the young paratroopers fought back. They could see what was happening below and started firing their guns as they descended. Wounded paratroopers who were lying in the streets, some bleeding to death, shot the Germans as they tried to pick off their descending comrades. Renaud and her three frightened young sons huddled in their home as the fierce fight raged in the streets outside.

At 4:30 a.m., the town finally fell to the Americans. As the reinforcing soldiers arrived, they were stunned by the macabre scene. Dead paratroopers lay in the streets and dangled from trees, their blood staining the cobblestone streets. Lt. Col. Edward Krause could utter only three words: "Oh, my God."

'Never forget'

Renaud personally answered every letter from the families of the fallen soldiers. With the help of other townspeople, she carefully tended to the three cemeteries where 15,000 American soldiers were buried.

In 1948, the bodies were moved to the American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach, but Renaud continued to visit the graves, place flowers, and send letters and photos to the families. Surviving veterans loved to visit her, and she organized D-Day anniversary events until her death in 1988.

Producer Doug Stebleton's documentary Mother of Normandy chronicles the life of this remarkable woman. He hopes it will premiere on cable in 2010. "I could not believe her story hadn't been told on a grand scale," Stebleton told me. "Her motto was 'Never forget,' and with this film we can remind people to never forget that these men gave their lives so other people can live in freedom."

France is sometimes criticized for minimizing the sacrifices of American soldiers on its soil, but it's unfair to say this of all French citizens. On this Veterans Day, remember Madame Simone Renaud, a woman who spent most of her life trying to ease the suffering of grieving American mothers by treating their fallen sons as if they were her own.

Chris Gibbons is a writer from Philadelphia. He can be contacted at gibbonscg@aol.com.