ジェイムズ・バーバーさんのインスタグラム写真 - (ジェイムズ・バーバーInstagram)「On June 6th 1944 he was 19 years old. It was D-Day and he was 19. .. ▪️▪️▪️ Later in life I remember my him talking about "storming the beaches of Normandy" and as he uttered those words he would become quiet. .. ▪️▪️▪️ He never spoke of what he faced that day and the days that followed but when pressed would instead tell a funny anecdote or two of his time serving in the army and the beauty of his travels as a young solider to Avignon, Lyon and Viviers. .. ▪️▪️▪️ He always wanted to go back and visit the beaches on which he fought all those years before, those beaches on which he lost friends and fellow soldiers. On those beaches where, as a 19 year old young man, he and others were called upon to face the unfaceable. .. ▪️▪️▪️ He dreamed of traveling to Avignon, Lyon and Viviers in which he had such fond memories of the people and beauty that filled those villages. .. ▪️▪️▪️ I also remember his keen interest when he saw the trailer for the movie Saving Private Ryan and the footage of the Normandy Invasion. He told me in a melancholy voice that he wanted to see that film, that it seemed real to him. .. ▪️▪️😄 By 1998 (when Private Ryan was released) he was too sick to make it to the theatre to see the film. He passed away before the film made it video and he never made it back to France to trace his steps as a 19 year old soldier. .. ▪️▪️▪️ To this day I am regretful that I didn't make a greater effort to get him back to France before he passed. .. ▪️▪️▪️ A few years ago I was traveling the Rhone River and found myself in some of the very French villages of which my he spoke of during his time in the war. Avignon, Lyon and Viviers. .. ▪️▪️▪️ As I walked through those beautiful cities I could not help but think of him each step I took, with each cobblestone upon which I trod. .. ▪️▪️▪️ This man was my father. This man is MY hero. .. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 To those who sacrificed themselves that day and to those who survived in the face of sacrifice I am grateful. .. . . . . . #dday #normandy #france #military @usarmy #sacrifice #army #patton #airforce #marines #navy #soldier #thanks #father #family #travels #give #love」6月7日 11時23分