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Transition

The family of the student I accompanied to Normandy in 2017 was gracious enough to invite us to her graduation party this weekend. Lauren and I came to know one another so well, we even got one another toys (for me a game, for her a Lego rendition of the Arc de Triomphe). I was also able to get her a copy of her superb paper for 2018 NHD that surprised her a bit.

Lauren was surprised that the published version of her paper was just that, rather than a published copy of this blog. 

Years later I'll look at this picture and smile. One of the best from my career. 
Lauren mentioned something at the party, though, that made me just a bit jealous. She asked me if I was following the happenings of the 2018 Normandy Institute crew. My answer was, no (my passivity with Facebook has recently become outright laziness). Then she admitted that she was a little jealous seeing new people in our places from last year.

And now, so am I.

I guess it's time, finally, to complete my Normandy odyssey. Lauren has now graduated, her academic work involving the institute is complete. Part of the academic hangover for me is the intrigue I still find in memorializing and honoring the dead from the war. The haunting fascination that I felt so deeply when visiting La Combe last June still pushes me to learn more. And it's time for me to be grateful that fifteen other teachers and fifteen other students are getting the chance to come home with a profound experience in understanding sacrifice.

I hope, also, they get the chance to bond like our group of students and teachers. Okay, perhaps I hope they don't bond that well.

So, where is my academic work going next? Well, formally it's continuing with work on the Korean War. I'm currently researching two Marines who served in that conflict. When I'm done learning what I can about those two (Bruce and Vic) it's time for me to start investigating my own family's past. My grandfather, after all, has personnel files, too.

This journey continues pretty soon, though, for I'm off to Hawaii, where I'll reunite with many of the grown ups I traveled with last year. And I guess it's time for this blog to record that story now, too.

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