ESCANABA, Mich. (WLUC) - He gave the ultimate sacrifice 81 years ago. Now, there’s a place to remember him in his hometown.
A new bench now sits behind the Delta County Historical Society honoring U.S. Navy seaman Auvergne Breault, a 20-year-old man from Escanaba who died on D-Day.
Last year, we shared how Matt Cottone, a Rochester Community School District 6th Grade World Studies teacher, and Ian Smith, a former student of his, uncovered Breault’s story.
After a year and a half of research, students at Van Hoosen Middle School in Rochester Hills raised about $1,400 to create this memorial bench. The bench was delivered to the historical society in May.
At the dedication, Cottone was touched by how many people showed up.
“It’s great to see so many family members, that I think haven’t seen each other in a while, that are reconnecting all over one person, again, who died 81 years ago,” Cottone said. “To celebrate his life, it’s pretty cool to see this happening.”
Jan-Marie Breault-McCabe, one of Breault’s nieces, says it’s important to keep Auvergne’s memory alive because he was part of the “disappearing generation.”
“He was 20 years old when he was lost,” Breault-McCabe said. “We don’t have a grave or anything. He’s one of those missing. We connected with his crew, of his ship, years ago and was able to find information about how he was lost, which is extremely, this is after my dad and everybody was gone, but we’ve got some answers at least as to what happened.”
Breault-McCabe says there were about 30 members of the Breault family in attendance for the dedication.