Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

Joseph Woodbury of Michigan died on this day in 1944. He was part of the Normandy invasion that turned the tide against Hitler’s Armies. Several Google® inquiries reveal little of his life, not even his date of birth, although he hailed from Michigan where I now live. I learned this from his headstone.

Earl and I visited Normandy in the Spring of 2015. It was my mission to find someone who died on June 7, and was ultimately buried there. We walked the rows of crosses and Stars of David, finding many who had died between June 6, the first day of the invasion, and weeks later. But it was serendipity at work that we found Joseph, who died on June 7 AND was from Michigan.

Today, seventy-two years later, I salute him. For he died on the day I was born; and his sacrifice, along with others, enables me to live free today. Joseph, sleep well.