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A Quiet Walk Through a Holy Place: 
Remembering Normandy, Part Two

A Photographic Essay by Trisha Manwaring

Editors’ Note:  This past year Meridian’s Assistant Editor, Trisha Barker Manwaring, moved with her husband Matt to Geneva, Switzerland.  In late March they headed over to Normandy to tour the sacred grounds of the cemetery and environs there.  Trisha sent us her photos and captions and we told her we wanted to publish them on June 6th to remember D-Day.  Today we share them with you.  (Trisha drew upon the American Battle Monuments Commission’s website, www.abmc.gov to verify her photo captions)

click on photos to enlarge

There are many trees throughout the cemetery, but this one really struck me. It reminded me of the popular LDS depiction of Christ in Gethsemane. Though no sacrifice can ever compare with that of the Savior, I thought of John 15:13: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

I wish I knew the story behind each cross. Buried side by side are thirty-three sets of brothers, and a father and a son. Oh, the agony!

In the middle of the cemetery is a small chapel. The inscription that runs around the top of the chapel exterior reads: "These endured all and gave all that justice among nations might prevail and that mankind might enjoy freedom and inherit peace." The interior of the chapel was simple but elegant. Carved into an altar of black and gold Pyrenees Grand Antique marble is the inscription "I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish."

I found it odd that there were still dead leaves hanging from this tree in the middle of March. To me, the leaves were symbolic of those who perished prematurely.

At the foot of the cemetery stand two figures that rise above the graves. One is a woman holding a rooster, which represents France.

The other is a woman holding an Eagle, representing the United States.

The cemetery was amazing any way we looked at it.

An inscription found in the Garden of the Missing reads: "To these we owe the high resolve that the cause for which they died shall live." God Bless America and all other nations around the world who live and die for the freedom of mankind.

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© 2005 Meridian Magazine.  All Rights Reserved.

About the Author


Trish Barker Manwaring

Trish Manwaring was born and raised in Sterling,Virginia, the second of five children and the only girl. This may have had some bearing on her later role as a sports reporter, and on her “no frills” attitude and attire. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from BYU and served as the managing editor of NewsNet, BYU’s award-winning newsroom, her senior year. Trish has since worked for a magazine publishing company and for various newspapers.

Trish first met her husband at a young single adult dance during college, though she has no recollection of the event. Thankfully Matt remembers, and he recognized and went after Trish when their paths crossed again a few years later. Matt and Trish were married two years ago in the Washington D.C. Temple. They spent the first two years of their marriage in Phoenix, Arizona, and recently relocated to Geneva, Switzerland, for a job transfer. Just prior to the move, Trish gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Claire Madeline. Now Trish can be seen buying ruffles and frills all over town.

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A Quiet Walk Through a Holy Place:  Remembering Normandy 

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