Lloyd Levin gave this speech beside a bridge in Trévé, France, known for its ties to World War II history. During the event on Aug. 4, 2024, he paused repeatedly so a translator could speak his words in French. Lloyd and Sheri Levin attended a total of five related events that day, marking liberation, lives lost and World War II.
When I was contacted by Joseph Collet from France one year ago and informed of the Aug. 4, 2024, 80th year commemoration of the death of my uncle Arthur Grossman here in Trévé, where he died on Aug. 4, 1944, I immediately said that we would attend. I thought that we would be here to honor the death of my uncle and the +140,000 young American boys and girls who made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the triumph of good or evil.
In one of the letters my uncle wrote his parents, he said: “At least know this – your son is also doing his part in this great effort of ours to make things right. Be proud that you have strong sons to help save homes, families, and the ability for kids to love and enjoy freedom, the pursuit of happiness, and the right to worship as we please. These aren’t just words anymore, some have already died in their defense; and nowhere could there be a more glorious cause for which to give one’s life.”
This commemoration today celebrates the liberation of Brittany and of France and the end of World War II. But I now realize that being here today is about much more. It is about the French Resistance, and the British, and the Canadians and all who fought for the allied cause. But it is also about each of us today.
The battle for the triumph of good over evil, for the triumph of truth over falsehood, and the triumph of freedom over tyranny is not over. We must continue fighting, we must teach our children, and we must teach our grandchildren that only together can we make this world a better place.
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This article, noting Grossman was missing, was published Sept. 15, 1944, in the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle.
This Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle Obituary was published Sept. 29, 1944.
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For more on the Levins’ trip, read, “Thank you, Arthur Grossman.”
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