Sailor from Madison returns to Normandy to celebrate D-Day
Callander and fellow veterans find peace and healing on the once war-torn beaches of Normandy.
By ERIN COGGINS
For the Record
It is one thing to turn 99 years old. It is another to turn that age while in Normandy, France, celebrating the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Madison resident and World War II veteran Sherwin Callander and his granddaughter Elaine Oakes traveled to France with 13 other World War II veterans on a trip coordinated by the Forever Young Senior Veterans for the monumental celebration.
The group stayed in Caen and visited all five of the Normandy beaches, Point du Hoc, St. Mere-Eglise and D-Day museums in the area, as well as participated in a wreath-laying ceremony and flag-lowering ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery.
“When we arrived there, people already had pictures of our heroes and wanted them to autograph them. Apparently, some people will find photos and print them out and hope these heroes return,” Oakes said. “Press and people from all over the world wanted to talk with our guys, so we would oblige as much as we could – after all, they deserve the honor.”
Callander served in the Navy during WWII and drove a Higgins boat to deliver infantry onto Utah Beach June 6, 1944.
“I only had to do it twice because the original coxswain was in the sick bay that day,” Callander said. “I was thankful to only have to do it twice.”
Callander said his favorite thing about the trip was seeing how grateful the French people still are to the Americans who helped liberate the country 75 years ago. He described the experience as being “treated like royalty.”
“They wanted to just be able to touch you, your arm or leg or something,” Callander said. “It was awesome.”
Oakes also witnessed the adoration for the veterans as European citizens from France, Belgium, Holland and even Germany walked up to them to shake hands or communicate their heartfelt gratitude.
“’They often had tears streaming down their faces as they shook hands,” Oakes said. “One man communicated that American soldiers fed his grandmother when she had nothing to eat, and the way he did it was as if that particular veteran he was addressing had fed his grandmother and kept her alive.”
It was Callander and Oakes’ second time to visit the French coast; they both attended the 70th anniversary of D-Day. It was different this time, however, as this trip was with Forever Young Senior Veterans and Beyond Band of Brothers. Forever Young provides wheelchairs and selects volunteers, who pay their way, who are capable of pushing wheelchairs, helping men and women on and off the bus and getting them to the sites they want to see, despite the sand or stairs or whatever might be a hindrance.
“In fact, our volunteers carried one of our heroes in a wheelchair to his beach because pushing the wheelchair through the sand, uphill, was just not working well. So having the support and experience of Forever Young made this trip even more fulfilling and healing for Papa,” Oakes said.
Callander said he was grateful for traveling with the group for a more personal reason: that it provided him a chance to connect with other WWII veterans from across the country. Out of the 14 traveling with Forever Young, only four including Callander were from north Alabama.
“It was nice. We had stories to swap and everything,” Callander said. “When word got out that Forever Young was taking the trip, we had people from places like Nevada and California sign up to go. I made some new buddies, and we will be friends for life.”
The action-packed trip took its toll on Callander. He opted to skip the official ceremony June 6 to get some rest. He did get the chance to watch his buddies shake hands with President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron on French TV. Instead of the pomp and circumstance, Callander had a relaxing lunch at Holy Moly, a hamburger place near the hotel that was honored to treat a World War II veteran to a meal.
“One of my grandfather’s catch phrases is ‘holy moly,’ so he really enjoyed being there,” Oakes said.
Oakes, who is the Alabama operations coordinator for Forever Young Senior Veterans in Alabama, said the trip helped solidify the organization’s mission of returning veterans back to where they fought for healing purposes.
“Seeing the places at peace and the throngs of people who came up to thank these heroes – it heals their hearts,” she said. “They left these places in ruins in some cases – certainly tumultuous. Seeing the buildings restored, the beaches peaceful and having children playing on them, flowers growing in the craters left by our bombs, was very touching for these men.”
As for Callander, he had a birthday to remember. The group honored him with a birthday cheesecake with the customary candles.
“I blew on the candles, and they came back to life on me. I blew twice,” Callander said. “Then I said to myself ‘Hey, I know how to do it.’ So, I spit on my fingers, and I put them out that way.”
