Kimmie Goes to Washington

Headed for conference in Pittsburgh via Washington DC. Will keep you posted with photos and entries. :)

K

To all the veterans of the D-Day Invasion.....

Thank you.

When we arrived to help this man recover belongings in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he told us, "The only thing I really want to find is the rifle I carried up Omaha Beach in the D-Day invasion."

His house backed to one of the broken levees and had been severely damaged. The odds of our finding it were slim to none. We worked all day, pulling more than 10 dumpsters of debris from his home. No rifle.

It wasn't until we were packing up to head back to the base camp that one of our Marines looked up in the rafters and saw something. In the storm, the rifle had been thrown up into the rafters and just the barrel was visible. The guys got a ladder and were able to retreive it safely. It was a surprisingly emotional moment.

Mr. Duffy thanked us profusely and said that there was a historical society that would help him repair the damage and refurbish it. He still marched in Memorial and Veteran's Day parades and said it wouldn't have felt right without this.