The Day the Soldiers Came - Oradour sur Glane

"War comes to the quiet places the hardest.

The country villages and peaceful places

are where the destruction and savagery are felt

first, and where the scares etched in time

take the longest to heal."

The war came quickly to the village Oradour-sur-Glane, and only for one day. No one knew on that warm summer day in June the soldiers would come.

For René the day started the same as any other he woke up early to the sound of his mother singing in the kitchen. After he had dressed he came down stairs and greeted his mother with a huge and a kiss and took his usual place at the kitchen table. She was preparing his breakfast, and today it was René's favorite, toasted bread, butter and some wonderful tasting strawberry Jelly that she had purchased at the market.

René sat in his usual place with his head resting on his hands and elbows resting on the table. His mother brought over the toasted bread, and as she did so she looked at him with playfull scorn on her face.

"René, get your elbows off the table, were you born in a barn?" She said as she sat across the table from him. He dutifully took his elbows off the table and began to eat the wonderful looking French bread and jam.

René's father had already left for work; he had taken the early train to Limoges, and would return in the afternoon. They were not rich but his father's mechanics pay kept them fed, clothed and housed. He would return this afternoon, and René would meet him at the station.

René loved his breakfast time meal with his mother. Some days she would sing as she worked, and on some days they would just talk about things that only mattered to them. They spoke of why the sky was blue and where the mice went after they had stolen the crumbs that had fallen to the floor. René was sure there was a mouse kingdom somewhere in the house, but he was just not able to find it.

He had finished his toast and armed with a fresh kiss from his mother, René was out the door and off to school. On the way, he met some of his class mates; René attended the all boy's school, one of three in the town. There was also a girl's school and a Kindergarten. The morning was overcast with periods of light rain but as the afternoon wore on it appeared as though the sun was putting up a good fight to poke its rays through the clouds. The group of boys hurried along to the school, but as they went they made plans to go fishing in the Glane River after school. The river gently flowed past the town. There was good fishing there and people came from Limoges and other parts just to fish in the river. René and his friends would have to move quickly after school of they planned to beat the older boys to the best fishing spot.

The morning had passed uneventfully, and the long school day was passing ever so slowly. Thankfully the time for the afternoon meal came and René would meet his mother at home for lunch. On his way home René did notice that some of the town's people were out front of their homes, chatting with one another. He noticed they were a little excited, however it could have been because someone's cow had died or any number of things that would count as excitement in this little place.

When the boys returned to school, Monsieur Rousseau greeted them at the door, and it was after the meal break when the world began its descent into hell. There was clearly a commotion in the village, something that didn't happen often on the sleepy French town.

The Boys school was located fairly close to the center of the village, just in behind the town hall. From inside the classroom, noises could be heard that sounded like heavy engines and steel grinding on steel. René and some of the other boys looked out of the windows trying to see what was going on, much to the dismay of Monsieur Rousseau.