MONTOURSVILLE, Pa. — An American and a French flag are placed next to World War II veteran Galen Davenport's grave at Twin Hills Memorial Park near Montoursville. Davenport was one of many soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, 80 years ago on June 6, 1944.
Joyce Young, Davenport's niece, decided to host a memorial here after visiting Omaha Beach in France last year while abroad. She says she encountered a gardener who gave her something special to bring back to the States.
"Came back with a French flag and an American flag, and he said to us, 'Please take these flags back to America, to Pennsylvania, and place them on the grave of your uncle who landed and came to Normandy and rescued us when we were under control of enemy forces, the Nazis,'" Young recalled.
A few months after landing on the beaches of Normandy, Davenport was captured by the Germans and surrendered.
"He was in a prison camp, two different prison camps, until the end of the war in 1945, survived, came home to Williamsport, and lived his life here."
Davenport passed away in 2002 at 86 years old. His daughter and grandson recall memories of his time in World War II.
"He would talk about how they would try to trick the guards. He wasn't tortured, but he would just talk about things like that, and he was hungry, and some of the times they had, you don't even know what they ate, the kind of meat they ate," said Karen Cizewski, Davenport's daughter.
"How the Germans were firing across back and forth across the beach at the boats and how when they first pulled up, they didn't drop the gate right away to unload because they waited, and as soon as they heard the bullet strafe come across the gate, then they dropped it, and they all ran," said Josh Bahr, Davenport's grandson.
The Davenport family says those memories will never be forgotten.