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And Grandcamp was ready to celebrate its liberators.
Streamers flying, flags waving, the people of Grandcamp and the surrounding communities wait with Cricqueville Mayor Louis Ledevin and Grandcamp Mayor Jean-Marc Lefranc for their long anticipated guests. At 4:30 p.m., three buses pull up in front of the town's soccer stadium.
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Eighty-six Ranger veterans and their families climb out to a robust welcome of fond hugs and joyful embraces. Old friendships will be renewed and new ones formed. There are a few tears, too, for the buddies who never made it home from the beaches of Normandy.
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The veterans, their families and their French hosts with whom they will stay during the ceremonies, are officially greeted at a reception inside the soccer stadium. After the speeches and the mandatory group photographs, and toast after toast after toast, an American military band strikes up a few Glen Miller tunes - and the veterans grab their spouses and start to dance. |
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