The Heroes of Sainte-Mère-Église: A D-Day Novel Read online

  The Heroes of Sainte-Mère Église

  J. D. Keene

  To Katie, who has always believed.

  Contents

  Maps & Characters

  Cast of Characters

  I. Invasion

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  II. Occupation

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  III. Liberation

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Chapter 69

  Chapter 70

  Also by J.D. Keene

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Maps & Characters

  Cast of Characters

  American

  Fictional

  Jack Wakefield, captain, 82nd Airborne, U.S. Army Baldwin Hicks, staff sergeant, 82nd Airborne, U.S. Army

  Historical

  Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander, Allied Expeditionary Force James (Jumpin’ Jim) Gavin, general, 82nd Airborne, U.S. Army William Lee, major general, 101st Airborne, U.S. Army Jim Ewens, captain, U.S. Army Air Corps William Surratt, first lieutenant, 4th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Wallace Strobel, first lieutenant, 101st Airborne, U.S. Army John Steele, corporal, 82nd Airborne, U.S. Army William Shirer, reporter, CBS News

  British

  Fictional

  Quinn Family

  Oliver Quinn, resident of the island of Guernsey, farmer Margaret Quinn, wife

  Claire Quinn, daughter

  Mack McVie, sergeant, 51st Highlander Division, BEF

  Colin Fradd, sergeant, 51st Highlander Division, BEF

  Simon Hancock, sergeant, medic, 51st Highlander Division, BEF

  Virgil Pierpont, squadron leader, RAF

  Kingsley Dalton, flight lieutenant, RAF

  Historical

  Winston Churchill, prime minister Bertram Ramsey, vice admiral, Royal Navy William Wharton, captain, Royal Navy William Tennant, captain, Royal Navy Alan Brooke, chief of the imperial general staff Charles Lightoller, captain of the yacht, Sundowner Alastair Denniston, commander, Bletchley Park Stuart Milner-Berry, champion chess player, code breaker Gordan Welchman, mathematician, code breaker Frank Nelson, chief, SOE

  Kathleen Summersby, General Eisenhower’s driver, BMTC

  French

  Fictional (* Member of the French Resistance)

  Legrand Family

  René Legrand, farmer*

  Cécile Legrand, wife

  Philippe Legrand, oldest son Jean-Pierre, youngest son*

  Ganier Family

  Pascal Ganier, farmer*

  Luke Ganier, son*

  Madeleine Ganier, grandmother

  Lapierre Family

  Brigitte Lapierre, widow

  Armand Lapierre, son

  Angélique Lapierre, daughter*

  Hall Family

  Arthur Hall, American/French citizen, thoroughbred horse farmer*

  Gabrielle Hall, French wife*

  Laurent Family

  Martin Laurent, lieutenant, 21st Infantry Division, French Army Margot Laurent, wife, schoolteacher

  Marchand Brothers

  André Marchand, grocer

  François Marchand, older brother

  Garcia Family

  Salvador Garcia, hotel owner Maximina (Max) Garcia, son

  Daniel Girard, owner of tugboat company, resident of Cherbourg*

  Antoine Devaux, owner of marine electrical shop, resident of Cherbourg*

  Julien DuBois, dock supervisor*

  Domingo Barojas, guide

  Maurice Fuquay, student

  Marcel Bordeur, corporal, 21st Infantry Division, French Army Ismaela Abraham, nursing home resident Hyam Rubin, nursing home resident Netta Rubin, nursing home resident

  Historical

  Alexandre Renaud, mayor Sainte-Mère-Église Charles de Gaulle, general, French Army Doctor Pelletier

  German

  Fictional

  Shapiro Family

  Joseph Shapiro, living in France, banker Ingrid Shapiro, wife

  Alfred Shapiro, oldest son

  Dreyfus Shapiro, youngest son

  German Military

  Gunther Dettmer, sturmbannführer, Waffen-SS

  Helmut Volk, oberst, Wehrmacht Wilhelm Ziegler, major, Wehrmacht Wolfgang Beck, corporal, Wehrmacht Claus Muller, corporal, Wehrmacht

  Historical

  Adolf Hitler, chancellor/führer Hermann Göring, supreme commander of the Luftwaffe Erwin Rommel, generalfeldmarschall

  Polish

  Fictional

  Edelman Family

  Uri Edelman, professor of music Miriam Edelman, wife, professor of language Esther Edelman, daughter

  Spanish

  Fictional

  Uncle Marcos, Spanish revolutionary

  Welsh

  Historical

  Frederick Riddle, seaman, Royal Navy

  Contributing Characters**

  Colin Fradd

  Elizabeth Gassoway

  Joe Alvarez

  Katie Keene

  Kimberly Morrison

  ** Contributing characters are neither fictional nor historical. They are actual individuals who made significant contributions to this novel in the form of editing or advanced reading. If you are interested in being a contributor in a future publication, email me at [email protected]. An additional list of contributors can be found in the acknowledgments at the back of this book

  Part I

  Invasion

  Soon they will come.

  First, we will hear the sound of their boots approaching at dawn.

  Then they’ll appear through the mist.

  In their death-bringing uniforms they will march toward our homes, Their guns and tanks pointing forward.

  They will be confronted by young men…

  - Choman Hardi

  Chapter 1

  May 10, 1940

  Tünsdorf, Germany

  SS-Sturmbannführer Gunther Dettmer had been dreaming of this day since his childhoo
d. When he was seven, his father died in the Great War. He never knew how, only that it happened in a battle against the French army—a thought that never escaped him.

  Now, with the early morning sun rising behind him, the tall, broad shouldered SS officer stood in knee-high grass on top of a small hill. He represented the classic Nazi image of the master race with his blue eyes and blonde hair.

  Through his binoculars he looked west at a column of Panzer tanks—their gun turrets pointing toward the French village of Étain. Surrounding him were hundreds of lorry troop-carriers, each with sixteen members of the elite Waffen-SS, a unit created to intimidate and control its victims by any means necessary.

  “I find the sound of those idling engines exhilarating,” he said to a low-ranking foot soldier standing next to him. “What a beautiful sight. There are more than seven hundred Panzers just in this column alone. To the north—two thousand more on the borders of the Netherlands and Belgium.”

  The Great War ended in 1918, with the surrender of Germany and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty forced Germany to pay large reparations to the victors, including the French and British. This became burdensome for the German people, who already struggled in an economic depression.

  To pay the obligations forced upon them by the treaty, Germany printed massive amounts of currency. This created inflated prices, causing food, housing, coal, and heating oil to became unaffordable for most Germans. Rampant unemployment left a feeling of helplessness throughout the country.

  Now, Gunther Dettmer stands proudly. He is dressed in his green SS battle uniform, with the Totenkopf skull and crossbones emblem on his cap—his thoughts are focused on his father and mother. His father whom he barely knew, and his mother who had been forced to do unspeakable things to support him and his sister due to the collapse of the German economy.

  Not realizing the foot soldier couldn’t hear him over the rumble of the engines, Dettmer continued, “Those bastards treated us like common rodents after the war. The day of sweet revenge has arrived. I am proud to be standing here as a witness to history. In just a few moments, our Führer will give the order, and the Blitzkrieg will begin.” I wish you were here, Mother, he said to himself. You deserve to experience this as much as I do.

  In the sky above, the sounds of airplanes roared from behind him. Looking up, he saw the beautiful sight of hundreds of Luftwaffe Ju 87 dive bombers headed into France, followed by the accelerated roar of the seven hundred Panzer engines that ceased being idle.

  “Es hat begonnen,” Gunther Dettmer whispered to himself. It has started.

  May 10, 1940

  Sainte-Mère-Église, France

  Through the poppy fields. That was their favorite path home from school. Their footprints left a wake of red and gold as they leisurely made the journey.

  Their friendship, now in its third year, started when Jean-Pierre came to the rescue of Alfred, who was being bullied at school. Several of the other boys, led by the pudgy Maurice Fuquay, had pushed Alfred to the ground, causing him to lose his wire-rimmed glasses. Then they spit on him and shouted “Jew boy” over and over while kicking dirt in his face.

  Jean-Pierre, standing several meters away, got a running start, tackled Maurice, and punched him. He landed several blows to his head. After multiple punches to his face, his nose bled, and his lip became cut. With Maurice pleading for him to stop, Jean-Pierre climbed off the defeated tyrant. He then helped Alfred to his feet and handed him his glasses as Maurice and the other boys ran away.

  Even though they initially had little in common, Jean-Pierre Legrand and Alfred Shapiro had become the best of friends since Alfred and his family moved to Sainte-Mère-Église from northern France.

  Jean-Pierre was Catholic, and Alfred was Jewish. Alfred stood slightly shorter than Jean-Pierre and had black hair. Jean-Pierre, although only average height, carried himself with a quiet confidence that made him appear taller. He had blue eyes and dark brown hair that he wore a little longer than his parents would have liked. Jean-Pierre’s father made his living as a farmer, while Alfred’s father was a teller at the only bank in Sainte-Mère-Église.

  “You were the best violinist in the recital today, Alfred,” Jean-Pierre said.

  “Do you really think so, or are you just saying that?”

  “Why do you doubt me? Have I ever lied to you before?”

  “Only when you think I will get my feelings hurt.”

  “What is wrong with that? You’re my best friend.”

  “You treat me like a child sometimes, even though we are both thirteen.”

  Jean-Pierre was getting bored with the conversation. “Did you invite Angélique to your birthday party tomorrow?”

  “I was waiting for you to ask me that. Yes, I did, but she has to work at Brécourt Manor.”

  “Your party isn’t until noon. Maybe I’ll go help her, so she can finish her chores early and come to your party.”

  “Jean-Pierre, she barely knows who you are. She is fourteen. She will have nothing to do with you.”

  “Maybe after your party, you and I can go fishing at Le Grand Vey.”

  “And to get to Le Grand Vey, we have to ride our bicycles past her farmhouse. You are always working a plan, Jean-Pierre.”

  “Your bar mitzvah is the following week. You should invite her to that.”

  “She’s Catholic. She won’t want to come to my bar mitzvah.”

  “I’m Catholic, and I’m going. So are my parents. My brother will still be home on military leave. He will come, too, and he is Catholic.”

  “Okay, I’ll ask her. Now stop using the celebrations in my life to spend time with someone who has no interest in you.”

  “I will marry her one day, Alfred. You will be my best man. The whole town will be there. We are getting married in Notre-dame-de-l’Assomption.”

  “Okay, Jean-Pierre. Whatever you say.”

  Home on leave from northern France, Jean-Pierre’s brother, Philippe, was a machine gunner on the Maginot Line.

  Philippe had explained to Jean-Pierre that the Maginot Line was a long, underground fortress on the border between northern France and southern Germany. It comprised many kilometers of corridors, ammunition storage rooms, and living spaces for French troops. It had large cannons mounted in bunkers pointed toward Germany. The French government built them as a deterrent to prevent Germany from invading France, as they had done twenty-four years earlier during the Great War.

  Whenever Philippe discussed his military duties at the family dinner table, Jean-Pierre could see how his father swelled with pride that his oldest son was defending France today, as he himself had done during the Great War. Jean-Pierre’s mother did not approve of such talk at the dinner table.

  “Prideful tough talk only brings about more war,” she would say.

  Like every French citizen over the age of thirty, Cécile Legrand had experienced war, and she didn’t want her children to live through what she had.

  As Jean-Pierre and Alfred stepped out of the poppy field and onto the unpaved road, they looked off into the distance and could see dirt being stirred by a car moving in their direction.

  “That is Armand’s car,” said Jean-Pierre.

  “He is really driving fast,” replied Alfred.

  “I think my brother Philippe is with him.”

  Armand Lapierre was Philippe’s best friend and Angélique’s older brother. He, too, was home on leave. Philippe and Armand were both part of the French 3rd Army Division. They were stationed on the Western Flank of the Maginot Line at Fort Jeanne d’Arc at Metz; they were home for the first time in several months.

  Jean-Pierre liked it when Armand was around. He would often bring Angélique when he came to visit Philippe. Armand and Angélique lived a few villages to the southeast, in Saint Marie-Du-Mont, with their mother, Brigitte.

  Angélique had brown eyes and dark brown hair that she wore pulled back with a ribbon to match one of the two dresses she owned. Jean-Pierre
thought it was cute that a few strands of her bangs would always hang down over her beautiful face. Whenever Jean-Pierre was near her, he would get nervous and his mouth would get dry. But he always found the courage to say hello and make her laugh with some silly antic.

  Armand’s car approached and slowed. Dressed in his battle uniform, Philippe got out and ran up to Jean-Pierre. Philippe, standing much taller than Jean-Pierre, had a strong build and chiseled face like their father. Jean-Pierre could see by Philippe’s expression that something was wrong.