Heuland Village Discovers its D-Day History 80 Years Later – France Bleu
On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Battle, France Bleu unveils in its chronicle “44 places, 44 stories”, some lesser-known D-Day locations. This Thursday, June 6, 2024, the chronicle stops in one of the smallest villages in Normandy, Heuland (Calvados). In 2022, 78 years after D-Day, this village discovered what happened on June 6, 1944. An incredible story symbolized by the planting of an apple tree that could bear its first apples in a few days.
A Canadian parachutist from the city of Winnipeg, Pastor George Harris, fell just a few dozen meters from the current town hall. During the parachute drop on the night of June 6, one of his companions panicked, and the pastor reassured him with his words. This parachutist woke up several hours after landing, hanging from a tree, while the pastor died. “I am always surprised when the inhabitants talk to me about it,” says Yoan Morlot, Mayor of Heuland, recounting this incredible discovery that changed the history of the municipality. “I am always surprised when the inhabitants talk to me about it. Of course, they were not aware either, and that is the whole purpose of the approach. It is to be able to be messengers, pass on this information so that the duty of memory can endure.”
Discover the story of Heuland, this small village in Calvados that recently uncovered the past of the commune on June 6, 1944, in the new episode of our series, “44 places, 44 stories”…