HomeMy WebLinkAboutBittersweet Memories Sunday, June 29, 1997
community
NI '.1 =�
III
•
B ITTERSWEET MEMORIES
World War 11 veteran returns to Europe to revisit Army days
By LILY AGUILAR
Eagle Staff Writer
T he first time Calvin Boykin
toured Europe, he rode in an
Army tank outfitted with a .35 i
millimeter gun. s '
The year was 1944, World War II was , ...
its final stages, and the fate of the
soldiers in Boykin's 7th Armored
Division had begun to change for the m .'
better. 3
In 1097, Boykin returned to Europe '0
to visit the places he'd seen as a 19- 10 3
year old soldier in the United States y , , :�
Army. Accompanied by his wife, 1� Ci
Rosemary Boykin, the two left their y a L'
College Station home en route to the Y `'
beaches of Normandy and the town of . q
• Rambouillet, both in France, and the
Belgian Ardennes. 3 i;
"The war was an important chunk of
my life," said Boykin, a retiree of the � "
1 Texas Agricultural Extension Agency.
"I've seen it as bad as it could get. You
' had to have a sense of humor to sur-
vive.
"But nobody experienced the libera- Eagle photo /Butch Ireland
tion of France the way we did. When Retired Texas Agricultural Extension of Rambouillet gave Boykin the medal
we got to a town, we were usually the agent Calvin Boykin shows off a medal for his help in tracking the names of fall -
first Americans there. The whole coun he received in a June ceremony in en World War II fighters. Boykin and his
try just erupted," he said. Europe commemorating D -Day. The city wife, Rosemary, live in College Station.
The trip, which was a 50th anniver-
sary gift from his children, was a during the war. Through letters and es," Rosemary Boykin said.
means of reliving a bittersweet part of short trips, he kept in touch with many Boykin said his trip was highlighted
Boykin's past and recording his memo- of the men from Belgium and France by a June 6 ceremony at the foot of the
ries for his family. who served alongside him. Those American Eagle Monument in
Rosemary Boykin said she carried a friends offered their homes and a place Rambouillet commemorating D -Day.
deo camera to record the military at their dinner tables for the Boykins, At the base of the monument, the
.sits, and she took pictures as the cou- who ended their trip ended June 11. names of the Americans who died
ple saw the tourist attractions through- "We had a lot in common," he said. defending the city from its German
out France, Germany, Belgium and "We suffered the war together." occupiers were listed.
Holland. Boykin admitted, however, that the Boykin said he played a role in help -
"I was the chief photographer," she trip did bring back some painful mem- ing historian Francoise Winieska of
said. ories. Rambouillet track the names of the
They stopped at the monuments to He recalled that, after he landed at fallen fighters. For his work, the city
the 7th Armored Division sprinkled Utah Beach and as he marched past the bestowed upon him a medal.
across the French and Belgian country - 90th Infantry's camp already set up in "Strangers would come up to him,
side. The couple also visited battle northern France, he searched the road- because they knew he was an
memorials and a historian in sides for a high school friend. He never American soldier, and thank him for
Germany. found his buddy. liberating their country," Rosemary
Boykin, who finished his freshman While visiting the Omaha National Boykin said. "For some people, it was
, .ar at Texas A &M University before Cemetery this summer, he was able to their first chance to thank ... [an
ilisting, said he and his wife stayed find the grave of that friend. American] on a one -on -one basis. It
with some of the friends he had made "[There were] ... a lot of white cross- was very touching."