The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-02-09
By ROSETTE HARGROVE
  NEA Staff correspondent

By ROSETTE HARGROVE
 NEA Staff Correspondent
 Paris, Feb 9.-Six months ago the eyes of the world were focused on the smiling province of Nor mandy. Today what was once one of the richest regions of France agonizes under her ruins in the aftermath of war. Tn thousands of American homes the names oi Saint-Lo, Carentan, Isigny, Grand camp. Coutances, ValogncS and Avranches mean something more than place names of victories in the communiques Priceless American lives were lost there, and they will live forever in America nhistory.
 For hundreds of thousands o1 French people these names spell utter distress and desolation. Roads hacked through by giant bulldozers straddl ewhat were once houses. A few tracks of yellow mud, charred trees and heaps of rubble, are all that remain of what were once prosperous towns and smiling vil- la2es. Even the earth is dangerous.
 The plains and fields, filtered with the skeletons of tanks and tiny white crosses, are still full Of mines. Every once in while farm CTS are blown up with their blows Whole families haunt the ruins Ol what they used to call their homes. They live like troglodytes, jealous of niece of wall less damaged than others
 A woman who recently returned from Normandy told me the follow ing story: More fortunate than many, we were able to get back to our house which still has two habit able rooms When and if my hus- band can find tarpaulin to put over our beds, we will have nothing to fear from the rain. There is nc gas, no electricity
 Most people get what light they can with the wick of a lighter steeped in melted butter. We go tt bed fully dressed, as the German took everything in the way of liner and blankets. All closets were broker into with pickaxes and most of u: only possess the clothes we were able to take away with us. How long these will last is another question And yet we are not among the most unfortunate"
 Words cannot describe the desola- tion of towns like Caen and Saint Lo, Coutances and score of others They are the most moving examples of the will to live in spite of the worst difficulties. Three-quarters oi Caen are destoyed. yet 50,000 out of it's 65,00O inhabitants have re- turned and live in the ruins. Out of the 15,000 houses in the town 9,000 were entirely destroyed ard every one of the 8,OO0 which remain standing is badly damaged.
 KEEP OUT THE RAIN
 People have only one idea: tC find states, tiles, iron, tarred card board, window glass to keep the rain out. A great number live hig- gledy- -piggledy in their cellars-the sick. the old and children all hud- dled together. People with large families do not have enough clothes to go around. Scores of people are still sleeping in the crypt of the Abbaye-aux-Homm the centuries old church which miraculously escaped damage from bombardment and artillery fire and where 5000 inhabitants took refuge and escaped | death.
 As for Saint-Lo. through which thousands of our boys have passed 1t is today a forbidden city. Let de- spite its utter and complete desola- toin, 4,500 of its former 15.O00 in- habitants have tried to come back to it. The town is off limits because bodies are still buried under the ruins. making sanitary conditions more than precarious. All drinking water is polluted, save that from one small spring.
 It is estimated that there art at least one million bombed -out people in Normandy alone. Con. sidering that the worst months oi winter lie ahead of them, the out. look is as black as 1t could be. Head quarters of the Entr' Aide Francaist (the French National Welfare or ganization) reports that since thu end of June over 400 trucks carry ing 2,5OO tons of clothing have beer dispatched to Normandy. But whai are 86,000 pairs of shoes to million people, who for the most part arC still wearing the only pair of San- daLs they had last summer?
 NEED MORE CLOTHES
 What use are 100000 separate garments when 100000 mems suit. and 100000 complete outfits fol women and children are neededi The origanizations stock are now exhausted and warehouses are emp ty. The organizers are in despair not only gecause today they car do so little for Normandy but be- cause they will be unable to bring relief to Alsace and Lorraine wher these provinces are liberated.
 Yet in villages and towns alike life goes on. Fortunately food fir Normandy is plentiful. There | plenty of meat. cheese and butter but there is no soap. Tn Caen. res. taurants serve good meals in i'm provised settings and there is cider and calvados to be obtained in tht cafes. One or two cinemas have res opened and newspapers are being sold on street corners while cyear- ance work continues and corpSes are still being extracted from the ruins.
 You hear little complaining ir