Figure 1.--U.S. Army Special Service units provided entertainment services to help maintain troop morale, among other efforts, Hollywood movies. Here they are showing the films to the children in Mazisy as part of the French national day celebrations--Bastille Day (July 14). These children could not speak English, but they all seem to be enjoying the film. The press caption read, "U.S. Movies Thrill Liberated French Boys: These French boys of Mazisy in Normamdy will long remember the liberating Allied Army, for in its wake came the U.S. Army Special Service troops with American moving pictures. Appropriately, these movies were a treat on Bastille Day, July 14, 1944, the French national holiday. From the rapt expressions on the youngsters' faces it must have been Mickey Mouse." We think Mazisy is a miss spelling for Grandcamp-Maisy. It was located on the coast, 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north east of Isigny-sur-Mer and 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of Pointe du Hoc. Today it is an active fishing port, with a fish market. On D-Day it was the site of a German heavy artillery battery and the headquarters for the sector. It was an important artillery emplacement in Hitler's Atlantic Wall.

As in other areas, the Allied military attempted to aid civilians, especially with food and potable water. The fact that Normandy was a rural farming area made this easier than if large urban areas were involved. We have been unable to find information on Allied assistance to civilians in Normandy. In other areas, the Allies moved civilians away from combat areas, provided food and other relief supplies, repaired water and other public services, assisted with medical supplies and servuces. We have not yet, however, been able to find details about military civil affairs activities in Normandy. We do note numerous acts of individual and small groups of Allied soldiers aiding civilians. The press photo on the previous page is a good example And here we see the military showing Hollywood films to the children in Mazisy/Maisy, a small coastal village near the much better known Pointe du Hoc where the Germans built an artillery emplacement--part of the vaunted Atlantic Wall defenses (figure 1). Normandy was the most damaged area of France, so there was a great deal to be done. Mercifully aver Mortain and Falaise (mid-August 1944), the fighting moved north away from Normandy as the Germans retreated back to the frontiers of the Reich.

Created: 6:11 PM 10/31/2016
Last updated: 6:11 PM 10/31/2016