Henry DuPertuis: Memorializing paratroopers in stained glass

Re “Remembering D-Day: Then and now” (Page 5A, June 6): Writer Christopher Kelly writes about a stained glass window in Saint Mer Eglise in Normandy, destroyed in the D-Day battle. It showed the Virgin Mary surrounded by paratroopers. There is more to that interesting story.

There are actually two windows in the church. Both were destroyed in the battle. After the war the 82nd Airborne division sent money to Saint Mer Eglise to replace the windows. The city fathers decided to honor the paratroopers in both windows. One show the Virgin Mary, who seems to be welcoming and protecting the troopers as they drop from the sky. The other shows St. Michael, the patron saint of paratroopers, with sword and shield as if going to join the battle. This windows also have the various insignia of the units involved.

My wife and I visited the church on the 50th anniversary of the battle. Since I was also in the airborne, though not in that battle, it was a moving experience.

This story was originally published June 7, 2016 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Henry DuPertuis: Memorializing paratroopers in stained glass."