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Beyond the Beaches: Honoring a Fallen Comrade
By Sara Jones, Response Services, American Red Cross
Saturday, May 12, 2007 — Today was the most solemn day of our journey through Normandy. As more than 30 current and former Red Crossers and their family members looked on, Mary O'Driscoll laid a wreath on the grave of one of her fallen Red Cross comrades, Elizabeth Richardson. Elizabeth, who died July 25, 1945, in a plane crash on her way to a Red Cross meeting in Paris, is one of only four women buried at the American cemetery in Colleville-Sur-Mer, which overlooks Omaha Beach.
Elizabeth Richardson, ARC World War II, is one of four women buried at the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach.
Photo courtesy of ARCOA taken by Christopher P. Vlk, Clipgloss Productions, LLC.
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The ceremony began with the playing of the U.S. national anthem, followed by the presentation of an award-winning documentary to the new visitor's center at the cemetery. The documentary, ARCOA: In the Spirit of Clara Barton, is a collection of stories about 25 American Red Cross women and men who served in World War II. Sharon Cann, who served with the American Red Cross in Korea, read excerpts from a poem (written by another member of the Overseas Association who was unable to join the trip) about the women on this journey.
Mary O'Driscoll then stepped forward to place the wreath at the foot of the white marble cross over her friend's grave. Once the wreath was laid, a 21-gun salute pierced the soft coastal breeze, then a lonely bugle played taps. After a moment of silence, carillon bells, accompanied by the chirps of birds, tolled a beautiful rendition of "America." The wreath-laying party dispersed to wander among the 9,000-plus graves and look out over the cliffs of Omaha Beach, which 65 years earlier had been strewn with the bodies of dead soldiers but now was filled with nothing but the blue-green sea, a few white caps and a stray seagull.
The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave blood through the Red Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.
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