We were up early on the 4th of July, and Lisa drove the two American girls to Colleville sur mer; The American Cemetary at Omaha Beach.

It is just short of impossible to imagine that war happened here. There are Jersey cows grazing at the top of the cliff, next to the parking lot. The fence row has wild pink roses ambling alongside (similar to the Hansa roses I have at home).

It is so quiet. As you enter the beautiful landscape, you realize you are amidst throngs of people, and yet it is quiet. We walked and walked. We found my friend's uncle, Captain Frances Walters. I kept noticing fresh flowers at some graves. Roses, mostly. But sometimes a little homemade bouquet, tied with a ribbon. Someone nearby remembers.

I stopped a man with a huge bouquet of roses in one arm, and a handwritten list of names and numbers in his other. Lisa interpreted. He belongs to a volunteer group. If you go to the Cemetary website, you can give a small donation and a rose will be placed on your loved one's grave, or you can underwrite "just one of the boys." They try to make sure everyone receives a fresh flower sometime throughout the year.

He was unshaven. His eyes were bloodshot. He said he comes every 4th of July from his home in Toulouse; an eight-hour train ride. He thinks it's important to say "thank you" to these Americans, and this is his way. Tears bubbled up and I said, "Merci beaucoup.