July 20, 2005
Avery generations take historic trip
Son, father and grandfather retrace footsteps of World War II soldiers at Normandy
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Last month, three generations of Avery men retraced the footsteps of the World War II soldiers who stormed the Normandy beaches during World War II, the beginning of the end for Hitler's forces.
Peninsula Township residents Mark Avery, son Spencer, 15, and father, Jim, a World War II veteran, completed a 17-day trip to Europe that included immersion in all aspects of the hard-fought battle. Returning home from London three days before the recent terrorist bombings, the trio also toured England, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Belgium and France.
It was their time in France at the beaches of the Allied invasion that sparked their trip and captured their hearts. There, they toured the eight landing sites and also the massive Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, which is situated on a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach. The grounds, which were given to the United States by France after the war, contain the remains of more than 9,000 soldiers, most of whom died during the initial fighting that began June 6, 1944.
"I looked up two people who were in high school with me - I'm from a small town," said Jim, a retired dentist who served in the Navy. "That was one of the purposes of going there, to visit their graves and pay my respects."
The idea for the trip began in part due to Spencer's interest in wars in general and World War II in particular. He studied World War II in school at East Junior High and on his own, delving beyond the textbooks to amass so much information that his grandfather called him their "encyclopedia" during the trip.
"It was very realistic, I studied it for three years," said Spencer. "Actually, on a World War II test, I got marked down for writing too much."
With his son expressing an interest in joining the military after high school, aspiring to be a Ranger, Mark made him watch "Saving Private Ryan" to see a battle's chaos and bloodshed. Unlike his older son, who was turned off to the military by the same treatment a few years earlier, Spencer was even more determined to serve after watching the movie.
A family conversation soon after coalesced the idea for the trip. After realizing that the largest cost in their plans was the airfare, they expanded the itinerary to include a cruise and touring of the British Isles and part of Europe.
"Spencer said, 'Boy I'd love to go there,' and dad said, 'I've always wanted to,' and there's never a time like the present," recalled Mark, an insurance agent who can set his own schedule.
While at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial they found the graves of the two of the Niland brothers, the family on which "Saving Private Ryan" is based.
All three were stunned by the size of the cemetery, with endless rows of marble crosses in perfect alignment. The crosses are interspersed with Stars of David for Jewish soldiers. The immaculate grounds on the American-maintained facility also impressed them, illustrating their country's respect for and remembrance of these fallen warriors.
"In the main cemetery, there's an air," said Jim. "It was just magnificent, the way that they take care of that cemetery and those memorial buildings are just wonderful."
Spencer and Mark explored German battlements on the cliffs, which included hardened bunkers and machine gun nests that shot 500 rounds per second. They also made their way down to the beach to where the landings took place and, staring back up, marveled at the young men who persevered as their comrades died around them.
"From the steep angle of the hill, I don't understand how anybody got up it," said Mark. "We did see a landing craft in the water that did look like it was blown up and burnt and kept where it lay, at Utah Beach."
"Dad had made the comment while we were there that they were truly not forgotten," he added of their Normandy experience.