Mother-daughter duo honor Haywood World War II soldier killed in D-Day


July 18, 2024

2024 participants standing at headstone in Normandy American Cemetery

Eireann, left, and her mother, Cecilia Ruth Marcus standing at James A. Knight's headstone in the Normandy American Cemetery

A mother-daughter duo took part in a program that allowed them to connect with history while honoring those who have fought for our freedom.

Cecilia Ruth Marcus and her high school daughter, Eireann, were a part of the Albert H. Small Normandy Institute through George Washington University. The program accepts just 15 student-teacher pairs per year for an intensive study of the Normandy Campaign of 1944. This year was the 80th anniversary of the campaign.

For six months, Cecilia Ruth and Eireann took a deep dive into the WWII history of Normandy, culminating with a trip to Normandy itself.

Part of the research involved finding a soldier from Waynesville who died in Normandy. The two pored over records, looking for a needle in a haystack.

At first, they found a handful of soldiers from neighboring counties. But eventually, they came across James Alexander Knight from Hazelwood, who enlisted in Waynesville.

“We had to go through all of the soldiers that are buried in Normandy. We went through hundreds to see where they had enlisted and where they were from,” Cecilia Ruth said. “We were determined to find one. When we found one that had enlisted in Waynesville, it was emotional to bring light to his sacrifice.”

Knight had been a part of the 30th Infantry Division and trained in England. His division arrived on Omaha Beach five days after D-Day. He died after the Battle of Saint-Lô in a field hospital after the amputation of both of his legs.

“It makes it a lot more personal to know he’s from here,” Eireann said.

During the trip to Normandy, each participant shares what they learned about the life of the soldier from their hometown.

“We found a lot of information on him going through old newspapers. We found his obituary, old letters from his aunt that were sent to find out about his death. We found all the things about his division and what he did during his service,” Eireann said.

After returning home, the two brought back a newly refreshed sense of respect for the soldiers who fought and died in WWII.

“Over 9,000 soldiers are buried in the Normandy cemetery, but it’s more than numbers,” Cecilia Ruth said. “These were sons, brothers, fathers, grandsons. Not only did they pay the ultimate sacrifice, but their families sacrificed, as well. To know that we had somebody from our hometown who was in Normandy, it just made it so much more meaningful.”

Going the distance

When Cecilia Ruth applied to the program after coming across it online, she thought it was a long shot, but decided to go for it.

“We were totally surprised and blessed that we were selected,” she said.

Starting in January, they studied weekly readings and participated in a Zoom meeting every two weeks to go over what they had learned. Eireann, a senior at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, had a little extra homework on her plate because of the program.

“It definitely was an adjustment, but all of the readings were really meaningful, so I wanted to do it, which made it a lot easier for me to do,” she said.

On June 18, the pair traveled to Washington D.C. — visiting historical and cultural sites, attending lectures, and engaging in numerous discussions while in the nation’s capital.

During their time in D.C., Eireann was one of four students selected to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

“That was really incredible,” she said. “Just to walk down there to see where the tomb is and where the soldiers walk by every day. It was a really incredible thing to experience.”

After their stay in the capital, the pair headed off with the other participants to Normandy, France, where they spent a week exploring the region and visiting many of the sites they had studied.

“All the things we learned about, we got to see and experience when we were in Normandy,” Cecilia Ruth said.

The two had the opportunity to walk on Omaha and Utah Beach, explore several German bunkers, and visit other battle sites, cemeteries, and historical museums before spending a final day in Paris.

Walking in the footsteps

On the last day in Normandy, Eireann presented a eulogy at Knight’s headstone with the information they had gathered in their research.

“It was really meaningful and emotional to be someone from his hometown to visit him. He was the only one from Waynesville buried over there,” Eireann said.

She also had the opportunity to rub the sand from Normandy onto the headstone — a tradition honoring the soldiers and highlighting the names on the headstones.

“When we went to the American Cemetery and saw his headstone, it was an emotional experience,” Cecilia Ruth added. “When you hear their biographies and their eulogies while standing in front of their headstone, it makes it personal. You realize they had families, and they had lives.”

The information collected by the pair will also be published as a biography in the American Cemetery in France.

Eireann also gave a presentation inside a former church in France about the roles of medics in the war — another part of the pair’s research.

“The pews in the church still have bloodstains on them. At the top of the church, there’s still a hole from where a mortar shell hit it,” Eireann said. “There’s stained glass now that commemorates the paratroopers who liberated that town and the medics who were in that church helping.”

Read at: https://www.themountaineer.com/news/mother-daughter-duo-honor-haywood-w…