Evening star., 1949-06-05
By Edword D. Boil
Press fossisn Correspondent

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OMAHA BEACH, France, June
4.-Lt. Richard J. Forman Of
Omaha, Nebr,, piloted a flying
fortress over the narrow beach
head on the Normandy coast on
which the first waves Of CTS were
sloshing on D-Day-June 6, 1914
opening the great allied inva-
sion.
Today 1t. Forman piloted a
United States CAT filled with
American correspondents return
ing for the hfth anniversary Of
the invasion.
All up and down the coast and
inland across Normandy the
French tricolor was breaking out
for the first really big anniversary
celebration of an event which was
climaxed by victory some II
months later.
Rites Held at st. Laurent.
This afternoon q brief ceremony
was held at the st. Laurent Gene
terry where more than 5000 Amer
team soldiers are buried.
Later in the day. British Field
Marshal Lord Montgomery par
ticipated In a small ceremony In
the battered town Of Caen, one
of the most stubbornly defended
places during the invasion.
Additional ceremonies will be
held tomorrow on Omaha Beach
and In the invasion area. At mid
night tomorrow a celebration will
be held at Utah Beach, with fire.
works instead Of shells lighting
up the Normandy coast.
What would all this look like
to a CT who stumbled ashore five
years ago. swearing and seasick?
He would hardly know the place.
The setting is the same stretch of
sand and shingled beach. But it
isn't the same. without the two
way traffic in hot steel and the
awful confusion Of killing and
being killed. It is peaceful here
now.
Today contrasted sharply with
the situation on D-day. when the
seas were rough and the overcast
was thicker than the steam
around a country sawmill on a
frosty morning.
Goats Huddle in Foxholes.
The beach is Uttered with rusty,
upturned landing craft. Off shore
stand the dead ships sunk to pro-
vide a breakwater for the landing
beach. Their blasted bottoms are
gathering barnacles. Above the
seagulls are crying.
Along the bluffs overlooking the
beach, weeds cover bomb and
shell holes. Goats huddle in the
old foxholes the GI's dug.
GIs will remember such names
as Charley, Dog Green. Dog White,
Dog Red. Easy Red, Box Red
code names for their sectors on
Omaha. But these names are like
dead Latin around here now.
On the bluffs Immediately above
Easy Green is st. Laurent ceme-
terry. It is one of two permanent
cemeteries in Normandy. The
other is at nearby st. James.
Eventually the total number
buried at st. Laurent will be 9,527
and at st. James, 1897. They are
among $4,000 killed in Western
Europe. More than 1900 bodies
have been sent home. The re-
mainder will be sent home later
or buried in the other eight per-
manent cemeteries in Europe.
Graves Still Being Found.
The graves registration head
quarters is still finding isolated
graves. Last month 13 more bod
les were located.
More than 5000 troops listed
as missing have not been located.
Some eventually. will turn up as
amnesia cases or those otherwise
lost In the cataclysm of war.
A sign outside st. Laurent
reads: CLOSED operation. No ad-
mittance." But the next of kin
and friends interested in a par
ticular soldier will be permitted
to enter. The sign was put up be-
cause the job Of disinterring and
reburying the bodies and land
scaping the cemetery has not yet
been completed.
Mai. Howard Bottomley Of
Providence, r. l., formerly in the
circulation department of the
Providence Journal. is In charge
Of the cemetery. Three enlisted
men are working with him: Pfc.