The Bridge Has Been Crossed

In early June 2009, sixty-five years after history's greatest amphibious invasion at Normandy, France, ten American veterans who took part in the assault returned to the beaches of their youth to face the scars that have defined their lives. The men, from all corners of America, survived D-Day, June 6, 1944, that ultimately turned World War II against Nazi Germany. But now they were fighting new battles -- age and a gnawing worry that the war they fought to save the world from Adolf Hitler would one day be forgotten. Throughout the 11-day journey, the men visited their old air fields, towns they'd fought to liberate and museums with planes they'd flown and boats they'd steered onto the beaches. Along the way, they shared their stories of bravery and hardship with twenty students from the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri, so that their battles and sacrifices would long be remembered. With its rich writing and stirring photographs, The Bridge Has Been Crossed/Passing Down the Lessons of D-Day chronicles this instant and gratifying bond between two generations. The veterans were the same ages of these students when they put their lives on the line -- surviving when so many of their comrades didn't. Several of the veterans returned to France for the first time since the war's end, convinced that the French hadn't shown proper appreciation for their sacrifices. They soon learned they were wrong. Throughout Normandy, the French, English, Dutch and Belgians approached the men with handshakes and hugs. They asked for autographs. Or to be photographed with the ten men. The veterans returned home with a greater appreciation for what they had accomplished a long time ago. Their victories in 1944 changed the course of history. Now their lessons are in good hands -- these students charged with the responsibility to pass them on.