Little did young André Gagnon realize what adventure was in store for him that day in June, 1944, when he climbed the attic stairs of the Normandy farmhouse to hide his prized trumpet from the Germans—and found an RAF pilot hiding under the eaves!
With the help of the village priest, Father Duprey, André's parents and older sister Marie escaped with the Englishman, leaving André and his dog Patchou to face a German patrol alone. Then suddenly the skies were filled with parachutes and the roar of planes. It was D-day! The Americans had arrived!
The days that followed were filled with excitement as André helped capture a German colonel and his staff, saw the landings on Omaha and Utah Beaches from an American plane, and learned to play his trumpet American-style from a slow-talking corporal from Texas, named Slim.
Through it all André worried about his family, caught between retreating Germans and advancing American troops somewhere near the coast. What followed was a thrilling search and surprise reunion that marked liberation for the Gagnons and for Normandy.
We Were There books are easy to read and provide exciting, entertaining stories, based upon true historic events. Each story is checked for factual accuracy by an outstanding authority on this particular phase of our history. Though written simply enough for young readers, they make interesting reading for boys and girls well into their teens.
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