Lacey Soldier, French Prime Minister Honor D-Day In Normandy

NORMANDY, France — Exactly 75 years after World War II's D-Day invasion, a Lacey soldier left the same beaches with an unforgettable, surreal moment. Although the trip seemed methodical and orderly on the surface, Justin McBride and his brigade's encounter with French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe featured a series of improbable moments.

At June 6's D-Day commemoration in Normandy, politicians such as President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron honored some of the world's only people who may be more larger-than-life than the speechmakers: the soldiers who stormed Utah Beach in 1944. But a 31-year-old soldier from Lacey also left an unforgettable impact on the commemoration.

McBride moved to Lacey his eighth-grade year. He later got his GED and gave college a try. It wasn't for him, so he joined the military in January 2009. Among McBride's military experiences, he spent 3 1/2 years in the Old Guard, helping conduct funerals at the Arlington National Cemetery for military in Virginia.

McBride is currently stationed in Fort Carson, an Army base in Colorado. He's a member of the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division in Fort Carson, which fought on D-Day. As the 75th anniversary approached, their training general was deployed. So the 2nd Infantry Brigade was selected to represent the 4th ID in France.

They arrived in France several days before the historic anniversary. First they dropped their bags and attended the Normandy American Cemetery on Omaha Beach.

"Immediately, we kind of walked up to random people who were there," McBride said. "We talked to them. All the veterans there loved being around all the soldiers. They have camaraderie."

An elderly man approached them on the trip and brought a trail of history with him. He introduced himself as Jack Port, a 96-year-old who fought in the Allied invasion of Normandy as part of the 4th Infantry Division. Port was a guest of honor in the D-Day ceremony.

Despite the age difference — many 4th ID attendees were in their early 20s — McBride said conversation with Port felt like they were speaking to "just another one of the guys telling a story."

"They had this huge task to accomplish, and it was nerve-wracking coming onto the beach and knowing what you’re facing and having that tenacity," McBride said of D-Day's soldiers.

On the 75th anniversary day, McBride and his comrades went to the 4th Infantry Division monument with Port. Because of his experience in the Old Guard, McBride held the 4th Infantry Division's flag with the ivy leaf design that symbolizes tenacity and fidelity.

Port wanted to lay a wreath at the 4th ID monument on the 75th anniversary. In an unplanned moment, members of the French government were scheduled to approach the same monument while they were there.

French officials approached members of the 4th ID and said, "the French prime minister is going to be here. Would it be OK if he laid a wreath with you guys?"

They could have made the 4th ID wait, but French officials had another idea: they would combine Philippe's tribute with the American soldiers'. The new plan: the prime minister would accompany Port to the memorial to lay down the wreath. 4th ID soldiers and French veterans stood in formation on each side.

When Philippe walked away, he faced McBride dead-on as the soldier stood with the 4th ID flag. Philippe approached McBride, shook his hand and thanked him for his attendance. There it was, fleeting but everlasting: the improbable moment when France's head of government felt honored to stand with the Lacey soldier.

The 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division wrote on a Facebook post that the handshake "may sound made up." But it was one surreal moment on the day generations of heroes shared camaraderie in Normandy.

"Everybody calls these guys heroes, which they are, but they don’t see it that way," McBride said. "They had this feeling they were doing what needed to be done, doing their duty for their county."

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