The story
On August 5th the XV Corps ordered the Division to take the city of Mayenne, 37 miles away. Task Force Weaver was formed to accomplish the mission, and by noon it had reached the outskirts of the city.
By mid afternoon, after a brief skirmish, Mayenne had been liberated as had all the intervening towns and villages. Thirty-seven miles in a single day. Unheard of ! Here again there were welcomes and speeches and drinks and kisses and flowers. Here again Frenchmen opened their arms and their hearts. And here the mademoiselles were even better than before, simply because there were more mademoiselles.
There were the bearded Frenchmen who insisted on bestowing wet and whiskery kisses on the cheeks of each and every American who came within range. The mademoiselles were shy and coy, but not too shy and not too coy. But hospitable Mayenne was soon left behind.
There's more to discover
You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.