Sketchbook

It was a far from perfect landing at Omaha Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944. The Allied assault faced unexpectedly strong opposition from the entrenched German forces, and within just minutes of hitting the beach every officer and sergeant of the leading U.S. infantry amphibious company had been killed or wounded. It was a nightmarish two days before headway was made and the beachhead established.

There are thousands of stories written and told about Normandy, and numerous archival photographs, but just as fascinating are the many drawings and sketches made by soldiers and sailors who participated in the invasion. One such artist was a Navy seaman named Fred Thrane. My connection with Fred began several months ago, unbeknownst to both of us.

Book auctions are notorious for providing the excitement of the unexpected, often in the shape of little gems found in old boxes or stacks of books. You soon learn not to look too closely and to go with your instincts, as long as the bidding is reasonable. We attended one such auction and left with several boxes of choice books, and some boxes full of doubtful ones to be sorted through later. It was when unpacking one of the latter boxes that I came upon the old sketchbook. It was small, about 8x11, and held seven original drawings, some in color, rendered in a quaint but professional hand. The scenes depicted were of soldiers and sailors of World War II. There were a few captions provided: one was Listening to the World Series 1944 on a black and white drawing of sailors crouched around an old radio set; another was USO Tour which captioned a color sketch of a singer at a microphone next to a piano; and another Setting up Tents described a color scene of GIs putting the final touches on their new camp. All of these were labeled Omaha Beach, Normandy, 1944. All were signed 'Fred Thrane'.

I had never heard of Fred Thrane, but I was now entrusted with his 64 year-old original sketches, and of course when something like that happens you have to do something about it, as Sam Spade would say. Was Fred alive and well? Did he make it home from Normandy? Did he become a famous artist? Is he a forgotten ex-sailor of WW II, impossible to trace? I had to find out.

I found the name 'Fred Thrane' on the internet, tiny mentions of him (was it him?) in a few websites, but nothing connected to WW II, or to artists or drawing, and not in the right time frame. Then I hit on a website for a ski club in upstate New York. The club's historian had written an article for the ski club's website on the history of the club, and it very briefly mentioned a Fred Thrane who had drawn the original logo for the club. This seemed promising, and the 1950s timing could be correct, so my hopes were raised. I composed an e-mail to the club's historian telling my end of the story and asking if this could in fact be the Fred Thrane of Normandy Beach. I received an immediate reply, and yes, it might very well be, as this Fred Thrane did serve in the Navy during the war, and was now thought to be living in Vermont with his nephew. I asked for further information and amazingly the club historian came up with the name of Fred's nephew. I made contact with Christopher Thrane the next day.

On Veterans Day I received an e-mail link to a video story from the local Vermont television news station. There was Fred Thrane himself being interviewed by a reporter, with those Normandy sketches laid out on the table in front of him. He had suffered a stroke so his speech was not perfect, but he was surely in touch with the event, describing the sketches and remembering his time in the war. He said that he never thought he would see those drawings again, and he was just thrilled to have them. Fred said he would have them framed so they could be handed down to future generations. The reporter sounded amazed that the sketchbook had finally found its way home after all these years, and so Fred became the symbol of Veterans Day, 2008, for Vermont.

As I said, there are thousands of stories about Normandy Beach. Most of them probably didn't turn out the way Fred's did. Of course along with the thrill of enjoying his reunion with his sketches, I'm sure their return brought back memories that weren't quite so pleasant. We'll never know about those memories, he'll take them with him. Fred and thousands like him. What was endured on behalf of this country is frightening sometimes. Yes, we owe those veterans a debt of gratitude, but occasionally we owe them moments like Fred had on television, with his drawings in front of him, and his family around him, his pride in his work evident, and his broad smile betraying his total enjoyment.

Postscript - July, 2009: Christopher Thrane wrote to me with the sad news that Fred Thrane passed away on June 24, 2009. Fred was 86 years old.