One man lays wreaths in Normandy

BENOUVILLE, France — The essence of war remembrance is to make sure the fallen are never forgotten. All it takes is a wreath, a tiny wooden cross, a little token on a faraway grave to show people still care about their fallen hero, parent or grandparent.

This year, though, the pandemic stepped in, barring all travel for families to visit the World War II graves in France’s Normandy, where Saturday marks the 76th anniversary of the epic D-Day battle, when allied troops successfully stormed the beaches and turned the war against the Nazis.

So anguished families turned to the next best thing — an Englishman living on D-Day territory, a pensioner with a big heart and a small hole in his agenda.

For years, Steven Oldrid, 66, had helping out with D-Day events around the beaches where British soldiers had landed — and often left their lives behind — be it organizing parking, getting pipers to show or getting sponsors for veterans’ dinners.

Laying wreaths though, seemed something special, reserved for families and close friends only.

But in pandemic times, pandemic rules apply. Oldrid was first contacted in March.

“I was actually choked up when I got the first request,” Oldrid said. “I’m always on the other side. Always in the background,” he said.

“They asked ’ Steven, can you lay our wreath? Well, they sent me five, and then another one said, ‘Can you lay one for my granddad?’ ‘Can you lay one for my dad’?”

Before he knew, it in this extraordinary year, he had become the extraordinary wreathlayer — proof that kindness cannot be counted in pounds, euros or dollars, but in time and effort to organize a day around the wishes of others.

As June 6 approached, the boxes of wreaths and grave markers piled up in his garage. And to soothe the nerves of families, he has also been filming live for Facebook several ceremonies and wreathlayings.