NORTH CAROLINA

        François Gauthron

French native François Gauthron’s mother was liberated by American troops shortly after they landed on Omaha Beach on D Day, on June 6, 1944.

Since he was a boy, Gauthron has been both fascinated and passionate about the history of the Allied Invasion, and has served as a tour guide of battle sites and cemeteries for years.

And he has authored a book, entitled, Colors of War: Not Black and White but Nuances of Gray

Gauthron will be the guest speaker at the Wilkes County Public Library, located on 10th Street in North Wilkesboro, on Monday, Nov. 19, from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m.

In a review, it is stated, “The subtle, overall conclusion of this book is that during both World Wars, the leaders of the Allies were not strictly altruistic and the leaders of the Axis Powers were not strictly evil. In other words, although both sides were motivated to do right by their countries, to different extents, they were led astray in certain issues because of personal agendas, politics, and/or stubbornness. His point, however, is interestingly told as he uses his grandmother’s story of escape from the Bolsheviks, marriage to a French farmer, a booming open-air-market business, three sons in the war - on different sides, no less, and later German occupation of Normandy, to illustrate what war was like for individual French farmers and other civilians. The story shares the suspense of the D-Day landings from both an Allied and a German point of view. It is truly a unique perspective of perhaps the most significant event in the twentieth century.”

Another writer wrote: Francois Gauthron took a friend and me to the major sites connected with D-Day. “A veteran of the French military and native of the area, Francois has been leading tours in Normandy for the past decade. He has taken thousands of American veterans back to the sites where they fought in the war, helping them retrace their steps across the beaches, down country roads, and across fields where cattle now graze. A number of times he has been able to reunite veterans with locals who remembered them from the war years.”

The most touching story told by Gauthron took place years ago, a time when many veterans were returning to Normandy for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Because most were in their 70s, the men knew it would likely be their last chance to make the journey. Members of an American bomber squadron were holding a reunion and hired him to take them to sites connected with their war experiences. One evening Gauthron ended a long day of touring by taking the men to a local bar. The room already contained quite a few people when they entered, most of them men about the same age as the veterans. When Gauthron heard that they were speaking German, he guessed that they were veterans from the other side of the conflict.

Conferring with the group’s guide, he received confirmation of his surmise. “Your guys dropped bombs on my guys during the war,” the other guide told him. “This could get interesting.”

As the American vets entered the room, Francois watched with a bit of apprehension. It didn’t take the Americans long to overhear the conversations in German and figure out who the men were. There was a period of awkwardness as the veterans found seats, and then finally one of the Americans went over to a table where some of the elderly Germans were sitting. He introduced himself in German and struck up a conversation. Soon another veteran did the same.

“After about ten minutes, everybody in the room was talking to each other and sharing stories,” Gauthron recalled.