“Escape, Exile, and Annihilation,” details how, between 12 and 16 June 1944, about 110 paratroopers, with the vital help of villagers, escaped Graignes and returned to combat in Normandy. Captain Brummitt and Lt. Francis Naughton led the main group to safety. The Rigault family saved the lives of twenty-one paratroopers, hiding them for three days in the family barn. The Rigault daughters, Odette and Marthe, were especially prominent in the rescue mission. The Germans punished the villagers by forcing them to abandon their village in the summer of 1944. The chapter speaks of the perilous journey that the villagers endured. Finally, the chapter explores the fate of the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division in the summer of 1944. Allied forces destroyed the division, leaving only a handful of the German soldiers alive.

“Days of Friendship, Hope, and Waiting,” focuses on the period from 6 to 10 June 1944, when the paratroopers and villagers bonded over their mutual desire for liberation and victory. Under the direction of Major Johnston and Captain Brummitt, the paratroopers built a strong perimeter defense around Graignes and carried out aggressive patrolling in the surrounding area. Captain Abraham Sophian, the battalion surgeon, set up a medical aid station. The villagers, especially the leading women of the village, provided the support services the men needed to prepare for battle. At rest, the paratroopers exchanged stories and songs with the people of Graignes.

“Liberators and Friends,” recounts the dramatic events of D-Day – the airborne transit from England to Normandy, the jump, and the shock of landing in a place that was not on the maps of the paratroopers. The flooded areas, the marais, further compounded the problems the paratroopers encountered. The commanding officer, Major Charles Johnston, overruled subordinates, like Captain David Brummitt, and decided to stay and defend Graignes. That the paratroopers found themselves able to wage their own private war can only be explained by the astonishing commitment of the people of Graignes. Led by Mayor Alphonse Voydie and café owner Germaine Boursier, the village organized itself to support and feed the paratroopers.