This Just In – My father-in-law was a great American. His story is an ordinary one by some measures – not mine.
It is a supremely American story.
Emmanuel Cleophus Bolduc was born in Quebec, Canada in 1916. I learned from his Federal Naturalization Record that his first name was actually Joseph (for his father), a name he never used.
As a relatively new American citizen, Emmanuel was soon given passage to Europe courtesy of the U.S. Army. He was an infantry radio operator – a guy on the ground.
On this day in 1944, my father-in-law was on a ship awaiting his turn to arrive on the shores of Normandy. His unit was in the second wave — “D-Day plus one” he would say. Every year of the 20 that I knew him, June 6th would roll around and if we were in the same place, we’d find him parked in front of the TV watching whichever channel was showing the epic film “The Longest Day.”
Right on cue, as if for the first time, he would announce “I was there!” Indeed, he was. A fluently French-speaking American soldier, he was valuable when rolling into France with General Patton’s army-a source of pride for the rest of his life.
I thought of him when I watched “Saving Private Ryan” which opens with the D-Day invasion. It really illustrates the carnage of the day and frankly I cannot bring myself to imagine the trauma of those next-day soldiers arriving at a beautiful beach, littered with dead young men.
Like so many of his generation, my father-in-law spoke very little of those experiences and the massive loss that was experienced by the allies. He was a happy, social person. A friend to all. He didn’t drill deep. He wanted to leave all that tragedy over there so that he could live his American dream in freedom over here.
He did all that. He ran an auto upholstery business in Hartford, sang in church, mowed his lawn and (along with my mother-in-law, his wife of more than 50 years) raised his kids – ordinary, peaceful things that people with such an extraordinary experience can uniquely appreciate.
I’m grateful that my in-laws have gone on to their final rest without seeing the rise of isolationism and Nazi worship that we’re seeing in American politics right now. I’m sure they’d find it heartbreaking and baffling.
So I hope that many channels are carrying “The Longest Day” today as well as “Saving Private Ryan” to reinforce the message of what it takes to turn back tyranny when leaders and citizens wait too long and don’t shut it down at the ballot box.
History is with us all the time, but we must take a moment and avert our gaze to its subtleties. Since I’ve benefitted every day of my life from the freedom that D-Day ensured for me and my family, it’s not too much to pause and remember those who were there.
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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