My Research

The story of my work began in 1974, when I first set out to uncover the human experiences behind the Normandy Campaign. I had no idea then how far that path would take me. I began by writing to embassies across the world, asking for help in reaching the men who had lived through those decisive days in 1944. Remarkably, doors opened. Veteran organizations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany welcomed my curiosity and helped me make contact.

What followed was a seven-year odyssey.

My research unfolded through the steady rhythm of the postal service. More than 300 veterans from both sides of the front lines shared their fears, their courage, their triumphs, and their losses. On some days, my mailbox held ten to fifteen letters—firsthand accounts filled with detail, emotion, and reflection. Over time, these letters grew into several thousand pages of correspondence, documents, hand-drawn maps, and photographs. Each envelope brought a new voice, a new perspective, and a new piece of the vast mosaic that was Normandy.

But collecting stories was never enough. I returned to the Normandy battlefields again and again, walking the ground with the veterans' voices in my ears. The hedgerows, the causeways, the church squares - they all took on new meaning when I could connect each place to a face, a voice, a memory.

All of this, every interview, every document, every step across the old battlefields, became the foundation for the books and articles I later wrote. Some were published through established publishers; in recent years, I have taken the reins myself and published independently.

What began as a young researcher's curiosity grew into a lifetime's work: preserving the fading echoes of those who fought in Normandy so their stories will remain alive for generations to come.