A memorial honors Private Paul Duquette of Sanford, killed in France during World War II. Photo: Joe Doiron
By Angelina Keizer
Sanford’s Pfc. Paul E. Duquette may be gone, but his legacy lives on worldwide thanks to a Frenchman named Damien Le Youdec.
Years of research by Le Youdec culminated in a memorial in Normandy, France on June 4, just a few days before the 82nd anniversary of D-Day, in celebration of the fallen soldier with local roots.
Le Youdec, a 44-year-old former French Army soldier, along with his wife Aurélia and their two children, became the sponsors of Duquette’s grave at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. For Le Youdec, a veteran of the Afghanistan war who lives with PTSD, honoring the fallen is a sacred duty.
“Five years ago, my wife, my children, and I became the sponsors of the grave of an American soldier at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France. As a family, and especially as a former soldier, honoring the memory of those who gave their lives is extremely important to us,” said Le Youdec. “That is where this wonderful journey began.”
Duquette joined the 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, after enlisting in the U.S. Army two weeks prior to his 18th birthday in 1942. At 19, he boarded a landing craft headed for Utah Beach, Normandy with his unit as part of the first wave to hit sand on D-Day, June 6, 1944. The Army awarded Duquette with a Good Conduct Medal. After his death, he received a Purple Heart, a WWII Victory Medal and a European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.
In France, an organization called Les Fleurs de la Mémoire (“Flowers of Remembrance”) assigns the grave of an American soldier to families wishing to sponsor one at random. This led to the Le Youdecs becoming sponsors of Duquette. “Our mission is to honor that soldier by caring for and decorating the grave at least once every year during the commemorations,” said Le Youdec.
“He started a little museum,” said Sanford’s Joe Doiron, a veteran and member of the American Legion whom Le Youdec invited to the ceremony. “He wanted to learn everything he could about Paul.”
The traveling museum – Ce Jour De Juin 44 – that Le Youdec started two years ago aims to educate K-12 students about World War II. “I travel with a trailer that I bring to schools, where I talk about the daily lives of soldiers during World War II, presenting them with a range of authentic period items, whether they were French, American, or German,” said Le Youdec, who also discusses modern conflicts. “As part of these presentations, I tell the story of Paul Duquette, from his childhood to his military service and his death in Normandy. The idea of my museum is to give children the chance to think for themselves and form their own opinions.”
Their connection began in 2023 when Le Youdec, who had been digging up information on Duquette’s life, emailed Doiron. Initially unresponsive because Le Youdec was a stranger, Doiron eventually yielded to Le Youdec’s persistence and passion. The task was challenging for Le Youdec as Duquette had been an only child and has no known living relatives today. The research required piecing together a life from fragments of history.
“A small private group was formed with several local residents, and one of them was Mr. Joe Doiron,” said Le Youdec. “As a member of the American Legion and a veteran himself, Joe immediately offered to have the commemorative plaque for Paul’s memorial funded through the American Legion. That is how we met.”
What Le Youdec uncovered was a story of a profound tragedy. He said Duquette survived the harrowing landing on Utah Beach on D-Day only to die 10 days later, when enemy fire struck him in the village of Éroudeville. The news of his death would deliver a double blow to his family back in the United States. His father, still in Sanford, died of a heart attack just one week after Paul’s death. His mother, Helen, buried her husband and then, about a month later, received the telegram from the War Department informing her that her son had died one week before his father. “That was common,” said Doiron. “Not getting the information out as fast as they’d like to have.”
The purpose of the June 4 memorial was to honor that ultimate sacrifice and to finally identify the exact location in Éroudeville where Duquette fell – a detail official military archives omitted. The ceremony, held at the site of his death, featured six speeches and local dignitaries, including a U.S. Army major, the mayor of the town and the county council representative.
Doiron, acting as a representative of Sanford and the American Legion, delivered a personal speech. “During World War II Sanford lost 52 men and to my knowledge Pvt. Duquette is the first soldier from Sanford to have a memorial honoring his sacrifice in a village where he died,” Doiron said in his speech. “We would not be in Eroudeville today if it wasn’t for the drive and commitment of Mr. Damien Le Youdec to honor Pvt. Duquette. Damien’s effort did not go unnoticed by the citizens of Sanford, Maine.”
He also read a letter from Sanford Mayor Becky Brink. “The kindness and generosity of the people of Éroudeville in offering this location for a monument is remarkable and greatly appreciated,” Brink wrote. “On behalf of the grateful citizens of Sanford, thank you for helping to ensure that the noble sacrifice made by Private Paul E. Duquette is remembered now and for generations to come.”
Today, the Le Youdecs consider Duquette a member of their family. Their mission is to care for and decorate his grave at least once every year during the commemorations, ensuring that Pfc. Paul E. Duquette will never be forgotten.
“He made the ultimate sacrifice by giving his life for my country,” Le Youdec said. “It was only right that we honor him with the respect and dignity he deserves.”
The post Sanford Soldier Honored Where He Died 82 Years Ago appeared first on Sanford Springvale News.
