While other ISAP members photographed the aerial assets
gathered in France for the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day landings,
I spent the week touring with my men’s chorus, Sound of the
Rockies, performing in commemorative ceremonies held at the
American cemeteries in Brittany and Normandy (Omaha Beach)
and in the town of Sainte-Mère-Église.
About two years ago a representative from Historic Programs (the
US non-profit that organizes these musical tributes) approached
the chorus and invited us to be the sole choral group to represent
the USA in the D-Day 75 ceremonies. We quickly accepted the
invitation and began the process of planning, organizing, rehears-
ing and fundraising necessary to get a performing group of 85 men
from Denver to the Cotentin Peninsula along with another 120
family members and support personnel.
My ability to document the events photographically was neces-
sarily limited by performance obligations, but I did bring along my
Nikon Z7+24-70mm f/2.8 and lent it to my friend and fellow photog-
rapher, Paige Sgrignoli. All the accompanying photos were shot by
one or the other of us.I treasure the opportunity given to us to perform at these solemn
ceremonies on hallowed ground. And for those who’ve never been
to Normandy, standing on Omaha Beach and looking back up at
the bluffs, with their forbidding German gun emplacements, is a
profoundly moving experience. The people of Normandy were
unstintingly welcoming and friendly: for them, D-Day is still a
living memory, even though most alive today were not born until
long after 1944.Assembled performers, veterans, dignitaries and Junior ROTC at Normandy American Cemetery