Memorialized in Glass

Interior, from Alter area, of Angoville au Plain church

 We went to visit Angoville au Plain church the other day. This church served as a field hospital during the Battle of Normandy. In fact, you can still see blood stains on the pews. 

blood stained pew

 The church was in a hot spot, an area that changed hands three times. It survived the conflict because two American medics (Robert E Wright and Kenneth J Moore of the 101st Airborne) treated both German and Allied soldiers here.  When the Germans realized the medics were treating their men, they refrained from bombing the church. One shell entered the ceiling, but, for the most part, the church was "off limits."

mortar hole, ceiling

Exterior view of window

Mark "Sparky" Patterson

While we were there, we ran into Mark "Sparky" Patterson, a battlefield tour guide from Arizona, who commissioned a stained glass window (left) honoring WWII paratroopers and the medics. Mark has a detailed description of the project here. 



He is working on a new project honoring the 82nd Airborne, for the church at Cauquigny, near La Fiere bridge, and we are excited to see it become a reality. Anyone wishing to donate to this stained glass memorial project, please contact Mark at pathfinder.tours at yahoo dot com. 

new project design

It's quite interesting to see recent history memorialized in stained glass. Another window that combines religious symbols with military stories is in Ste. Marie Eglise, and shows paratroopers landing around the church (below). We'd love to hear about more windows or other creative, lasting tributes that we can feature on future blog posts.