A Pencil Sketch in France

This is the first original pencil drawing I ever saw

Drawn by a french street artist

of my newlywed parents while stationed in France

Dated 1945

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( The fee ?~ a pack of cigarettes )

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Until today it hadn't even crossed my mind

that this could have been the beginning of my love for art.

To see that someone could take a mere pencil

and create a beautiful likeness on paper.

Another by the same artist

~ I am in the process of digitally repairing the damage ~

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My mother was an R.N. who joined the army

and served in Europe during WWII.

Sent overseas just days after marrying my father,

who also joined the army. He worked on the railroads.

They sometimes would discover where

each other was stationed ~ and meet, as they did this day.

~ Newlyweds in France ~

not as romantic as it sounds.

They saw the ravages of the war.

My mother worked in a tent evacuation hospital

on the front lines, putting soldiers bodies back together.

Hearing constant sounds of bombing,

giving of herself to save lives.

She was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.

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I wonder sometimes what became of the young men

whose lives she saved... whose children and grandchildren

and their ongoing families ~ lived ~

because she selflessly gave of her abilities.

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And whatever became of this artist?

Signed and dated 1945 Verdun

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Until today I hadn't even studied his name

Or googled "Verdun"

So much I do not know! And never really wondered about.

Ten years after this I entered their world.

Now that I am older, I have so many questions

and they are not alive to ask.

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This memorial day, I remember

the sacrifices my parents, and thousands upon thousands

of others made in the name of Freedom.

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Their lives were not lost in the war, not literally.

But they were never the same after the things they lived through.

~ Today I honor them ~

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And this artist? How thankful I am that he created these drawings!

I would love to find out more about him,

if he survived the war

if he had children and grandchildren

~ if any became artists? ~

(can any of you decipher his name for me?)