Dear gentlemen,hello from France.In a few days,after a friend of mine will have taken all the pictures I asked him,I will be able to post pics from different items,all recovered by his father during the fierce fights for the liberation of Elbeuf,a small French town on the Seine River,close to Rouen.
The most exceptional item is a M1 helmet with its liner,that his father picked up after the soldier that wore it was killed by a shrapnel in the head.This soldier was in the same shelter,a crate,than my friend's father,so he was really schoked.
I've seen this helmet a few years ago,and holding it in my hands,I cannot detach my thougts from the so sad fate of the poor soldier,especially looking inside the un-cleaned helmet....
I hope all the pics he'll send me will be as poignant as I hope,as they are a real part of individual history recovered by a young french boy who was beside the allied troops.
My main question (at last...) is :who liberated Elbeuf ?My friend told me this was a common force:American and Canadian.
The most surprising thing for my so-low-knowledges is that my friend is sure that this was a Canadian soldier under the M1 helmet...
Thanks for your patience and I hope not disapointing you with my future pictures