A soldier with the 28th Division stands amid the ruins of Gathemo, France, in August 1944. (Screenshot from National Archives film)

Shaun Nadolny is finally making the trip from Wisconsin to visit his great-uncle’s grave in the Brittany American Cemetery in France.

Tradition holds that for visiting family members, staff will place moistened sand on the engraving on the marker for Jerome Nadolny, who was killed in the fierce fighting around Gathemo, a small village in Normandy, using a wet sponge. The process brings the name out on the marble Latin cross, so it can easily be seen from 15 to 20 feet away.

An American and French flag – standing about knee high – will be placed in front of the grave. Traditionally, the U.S. marker is symbolically on the right side – as if it were in the soldier’s right hand and facing home. The French will be on the left – always toward inland territory.

Then, he and his cousin, Kurt, will travel to Gathemo, where nine soldiers of the 28th Division, including three from Pennsylvania, lost their lives as the Allies pushed inland from the beaches of Normany to liberate Europe.

They’ll be the sole American relatives of the fallen soldiers who will be on hand for a ceremony Saturday honoring their sacrifice during the fight for the town 81 summers ago. The gathering will include the dedication of a plaque and memorial and a renaming of a street in honor of the 28th Division, a Pennsylvania National Guard unit before the war. The trip is the culmination of an improbable sequence of events that began when Nadolny went in search of the war history of a long-lost great-uncle. Nadolny admits to feeling a little pressure, because he doesn’t want to let his family down or any of the other families.

“I know it’s going to be a heavy experience for me personally. I wish I could share this with my dad,” he said. “It was on my bucket list to just go to that cemetery, but now to actually go to the cemetery? It’s obviously a trip of a lifetime, right?“

Gathemo today

Visitors to Normandy will notice Allied flags – American, British, and Canadian – hanging not just on poles, but in windows and on doors in village after village. This isn’t just a phenomenon that happens in the typical tourist areas around the landing beaches or landmarks made famous in the 1962 movie, The Longest Day, or the HBO miniseries, Band of Brothers.

The Battle of Normandy stretched beyond what happened on June 6, 1944. Allied troops applied relentless pressure in an effort to push the German occupiers back.

The clash lasted for more than two months, as it became a war of attrition. Allied troops had to constantly resupply the front lines, while the enemy dealt with losses – in terms of men and machines – it simply couldn’t replace

In the end, the Allies suffered 210,000 casualties,while the Germans dealt with losses of 400,000 men.

Town and after town touched by the Battle of Normandy has its own monuments or historical markers to pilots whose downed aircraft crashed nearby, soldiers who died in their streets or units that helped liberate them.

In Periers for example, The Four Braves memorial honors the 90th Infantry Division — which liberated the town as part of Operation Cobra. This was a piece of the successful U.S. breakout — which played a big role in the rapid collapse of the Germans’ defense in Normandy.

Two Pennsylvanians who lost  their lives — Private 2nd Class Andrew J. Speese III of Philadelphia and Sgt. Tullio Micaloni of Oneida — are immortalized as part of the memorial.

One tour group recounted how in the town of La Haye du Puits, a man noticed they were Americans. He hurried home and later found the group at a restaurant eating lunch. He excitedly, in French, described what it was like as a boy in the summer of 1944 to see his home liberated.

As his story was translated, he pulled a piece of silk parachute from his jacket — given to him by a U.S. soldier. He simply wanted to share his gratitude for the sacrifice made by the Allies.

Even in 2025, people in Normandy’s villages and towns still think there is history to be acknowledged and a debt owed.

Gathemo, with a population of 267, will join the others Saturday, with a permanent “thank you.”

Over several days in early August, 1944, the 28th attacked German troops occupying the town.

Progress was slow, measured in a few hundred yards at times, but by the afternoon Aug. 10, the 28th had liberated Gathemo. The division’s losses were nine men killed, including three from Pennsylvania, and an estimated 235 wounded.

The 77-day Battle of Normandy came to an end on Aug. 19, after tens of thousands of German troopers were captured when the Falaise pocket was closed by Allied troops.

A mere 10 days after that, the men of the 28th Division were in Paris, taking part in the liberation day parade through the city.

Located nearly 90 minutes from the English Channel and Omaha Beach, Mayor Christelle Errard describes Gathemo as having all the hallmarks of a quaint Norman community – a bakery, a bar, gift shops and five farms.

The church, destroyed in the fight, was rebuilt after the war and features a pointed bell tower. According to the mayor, the granite used for the altar and the cross came from Gathemo’s quarries.

‘There are no words strong enough’

The town’s role in the Allied push to encircle and destroy part of the German Army in the final weeks and days of the clash has largely been forgotten – overshadowed by the fight in Mortain and Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives, among others. Errard became mayor of Gathemo in July of 2020 and has lived in the community for a decade. She was born in another historically significant part of France – Verdun. It’s the site of one the longest and most ferocious battles of the First World War.

“We have a mission in our world: to listen to our history, to transcribe it, so as not to forget Our duty to remember is here. And the witnesses of this period will soon all be gone. I also understood that many don’t want to share what they experienced,” she wrote in an email exchange using Google Translate to go from French to English. “My father never spoke about this period when he was 6-years-old, yet four years ago, on his deathbed, he relived the scenes he had witnessed.”

Now, she said, it’s Gathemo’s turn to pay tribute to the young Americans who fought to liberate Europe.

“Many returned home with physical and mental injuries, but many, like Pvt. Nadolny, did not return to their families,” Errard wrote. “My son will be 23 in June, the same age Pvt. Nadolny was when he lost his life in Gathemo, for Gathemo. I cannot remain indifferent. The tribute is small, but I hope it is the beginning of another story for Gathemo and all the people who will stop and pay their respects at this memorial.”

The monument with the names of the nine men killed will be located close to the back of the church in Gathemo. It will be on a granite stone with an M1 helmet featuring the division logo placed on top. A plaque honoring the entire division will be dedicated, and a street will be renamed in honor of the 28th Division, which, according to unit lore was nicknamed the “Bloody Bucket” by the Germans because of the red keystone patches worn on their uniforms.

The Mike Pride Museum in Normandy covered the 1,800 Euro price tag.

“Dear American friends, there are no words strong enough to express our gratitude and respect,” Errard said. “I would like to say BRAVO and THANK YOU.”

Two men who were just children at the time of the battle will be on hand for the ceremony – 87-year-old Guy Lelandais and 80-year-old Michele Golonde.

Errard says for Lelandais, whose cousin was killed by an exploding shell in front of his eyes, preserving the history of the liberation of his hometown has been a lifelong passion. He has – collecteding testimonies from around the region.

Galonde was just six months old when the 28th Division pushed the Germans out of Gathemo, hiding in a cellar with his family, according to Gerrard. His older sister was in front of the baby carriage he was in when a shell exploded – wounding her in the leg, which left her permanently disabled.  But as fate would have it, she likely saved Galonde’s life because of where she was standing.

Nadolny plans to have dinner with the mayor and hopes to shake Lelandais’ hand and ask him what he remembers about the fight to free the town.

“I mean sincerely, we are so thankful…my family and I are almost just unbelievably thankful,” he said. “(Jerome) was a blue-collar soldier that gave everything and moved us along, So to me, that’s what it’s about. A lot of forgotten stories. So, if we can share a little bit of it or be a part of it, I think it’s incredible.”

The commemoration is a reminder that “freedom has a cost and that true friendship endures,”  Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a letter to the event organizers.

“More than 80 years ago, the sons of Pennsylvania crossed an ocean to stand in defense of liberty and peace, forging a bond of courage and shared sacrifice. The soldiers of the 28th Infantry Division fought with extraordinary bravery, with some making the ultimate sacrifice,” Shapiro said. “The people of Gathemo have, across generations, honored the legacy of these brave men not only with gratitude, but with a deep and enduring partnership that continues to unite our communities. Pennsylvania is proud of the heritage of the 28th Infantry Division and of the shared history we hold with our friends in Gathemo.”

The ceremony is set to begin Saturday, June 7, at 5 a.m. EST and will be livestreamed on the Mike Pride Museum YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@grpicardie3945.

If you missed part one, read about the battle of Gathemo and the effort to track down the families of the men who died to liberate the town. 

Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Tim Lambert for questions: info@penncapital-star.com.