D-day stories inspire daughter’s lifelong journey

FINDING GILBERT In June 1994, I traveled to Normandy to accept a medal in Dad’s honor as part of the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. I spent a day touring the landing

beaches, visiting museums and learning that it was the largest land and sea invasion in the history of the world. As I stood on the cliff overlooking Omaha Beach, the stiff breeze dried my

tears as I remembered my father. _This is so real. All Dad’s stories happened right here. And the orphan Gilbert, he must be real too. What if he is out there, somewhere, remembering Dad?

And what if I could find him?_ I wasn’t even sure how to spell Gilbert’s last name, but I put an ad in the local paper to try to find him. This was my chance to try to complete what my dad

had not been able to. For my father, I had to try. By a combination of miracles and providence, I connected with Gilbert on what would have been Dad’s 80th birthday. Dad had celebrated his

30th birthday in France with Gilbert in 1944. Now Gilbert and I remembered him together, in Normandy again. In our emotional reunion, I finally understood my passion for knowing French; no

one in Gilbert’s family spoke English. Gilbert had told his wife, daughter and grandsons about the kind lieutenant who had loved him and had wanted to take him home to America. “Someday,

someone will come,” he had said. When I told Gilbert that Dad had never forgotten him, he wept. Left: Diane with her French family in Normandy, from left, in back, Cathy, Gilbert and

Huguette’s daughter, in front of her, Marion, partner to Benoît, grandson of Gilbert and Huguette, Lya, great granddaughter, Tim, great grandson, Huguette, Diane and Frakas, the golden

retriever. Right: Diane with the newest member of her French family, Charlie, Benoît and Marion’s baby. Courtesy Diane Covington-Carter A NEW BROTHER, AT AGE 45 Gilbert became my French

brother. I promised myself that I would never lose touch with Gilbert and his family again and I have kept that promise, visiting them often. In 1997, Gilbert and his family came to

California for a grand fête with 40 members of my family here to greet them and to celebrate with them. I continued to stay with Gilbert and his family on the 60th, 70th and 75th

anniversaries of D-Day in France, which I covered for newspapers and magazines. For the 60th and 70th, I was a guide and translator for Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours.