{"id":5385727,"date":"2025-12-02T15:56:36","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T15:56:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.life.com\/?p=5385727"},"modified":"2025-12-02T15:56:56","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T15:56:56","slug":"a-battered-town-welcomes-a-savior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.life.com\/history\/a-battered-town-welcomes-a-savior\/","title":{"rendered":"A Battered Town Welcomes A Savior"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Americans who are not all that well versed in history may only know <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charles_de_Gaulle_during_World_War_II\">Charles de Gaulle<\/a> as a man with an airport in Paris named after him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But if you want to know <em>why<\/em> that airport is named for him, take a look at the photograph of a group of young girls assembled in the square of a bombed-out French town. Look at the hope they have, despite the rubble surrounding them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The photo was taken was June 14, 1944. That is eight days after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.life.com\/history\/the-war-after-d-day-deeper-into-hell-2\/\">the D-Day invasion<\/a> began the process of liberating Western Europe, and six days after a June 8 attack that devastated Isigny, destroying about sixty percent of the French town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They girls assembled because people in Isigny had been told, with only a half-hour&#8217;s notice, that Charles de Gaulle was coming. De Gaulle was the leader of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Free_France\">Free France<\/a>, which formed after Paris fell to the Nazis in 1940.  He had been directing a government-in-exile from Great Britain for the four years since then, but his arrival in Isigny was part of his return to his home country to establish a new French government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When he arrived <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lapetitemusette.com\/2017\/01\/general-de-gaulle-is-in-isigny-mer\/?lang=en\">De Gaulle told residents of the war-ravaged town<\/a>, \u201cI am very happy to see the dear and bruised population of our town of Isigny gathered here, I know what suffered Isigny. It is the sufferings that each parcel of France will have to pass before reaching liberation. But I know, like you, that this test will not be useless. It is because of this ordeal that we will make the unity and the greatness of France. I want you, with me, to have a feeling of hope in your heart, and to sing the <em>Marseillaise<\/em>\u00a0\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In its <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=Ok8EAAAAMBAJ&amp;pg=PA18&amp;dq=De+Gaulle+Isigny&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjmu7aDmZCQAxUhmokEHV16GnIQ6AF6BAgIEAM#v=onepage&amp;q=De%20Gaulle%20Isigny&amp;f=false\">July 3, 1944 issue<\/a> LIFE covered De Gaulle&#8217;s return to France and his visit to isigny with photos by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.life.com\/photographer\/frank-scherschel\/\">staff photographer Frank Scherschel<\/a> that showed both the leader of the resistance and the hope that his presence inspired. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The magazine&#8217;s story duscussed the political aspects of the moment, because de Gaulle&#8217;s actions were more welcome locally than they were among France&#8217;s allies, who felt it was too soon to establish a new French government. But while U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt was irked, the people of France were overjoyed. LIFE&#8217;s ended with a quote from a French playwright, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Henri_Bernstein\">Henri Bernstein<\/a>, saying of De Gaulle, &#8220;Let me tell you, this is not going to make him unpopular among the French.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>De Gaulle not only served as head of France&#8217;s provisional government for three years, but would also come back to serve as President of France from 1959 to 1969, before his death in 1970.<\/p>\n\n\n<blockquote id=\"single-block_6791202a81066880ec4ba7d6318b5085\" class=\"single-image \">\n    <section>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" data=\"block-image\" data-id=5385741 desc=\"\" caption=\"Frank Scherschel\/Life Picture Collection\/Shutterstock\" title=\"The people of Isigny hastily gathered to welcome Charles de Gaulle after the recently bombed town learned that the leader of Free France was on his way for a visit, June 14, 1944.\" src=\"https:\/\/static.life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/01153850\/116688371-1024x661.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n                <div class=\"image-info\">\n            <p class=\"image-caption\">The people of Isigny hastily gathered to welcome Charles de Gaulle after the recently bombed town learned that the leader of Free France was on his way for a visit, June 14, 1944.<\/p>\n            <p class=\"image-caption\">Frank Scherschel\/Life Picture Collection\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote id=\"single-block_2e9c420fe03bb7324fed4c7afb3de7be\" class=\"single-image \">\n    <section>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" data=\"block-image\" data-id=5385743 desc=\"\" caption=\"Isigny &amp;amp; De Gaulle - Photographs of Italian civilians during WWII\" title=\"People gathered to welcome the return of Charles de Gaulle to France during World War II, June 14, 1944.\" src=\"https:\/\/static.life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/01200759\/116688359-1024x661.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n                <div class=\"image-info\">\n            <p class=\"image-caption\">People gathered to welcome the return of Charles de Gaulle to France during World War II, June 14, 1944.<\/p>\n            <p class=\"image-caption\">Isigny &amp; De Gaulle &#8211; Photographs of Italian civilians during WWII<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote id=\"single-block_86ab72cb758f50f7634e040b3fe46ba2\" class=\"single-image \">\n    <section>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" data=\"block-image\" data-id=5385730 desc=\"\" caption=\"Frank Scherschel\/Life Picture Collection\/Shutterstock\" title=\"People in Isigny, France, gathered on short notice for the arrival of Charles de Gaulle as he re-established the government of France during World War II, June 14, 1944.\" src=\"https:\/\/static.life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/01153810\/00605408-1024x674.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n                <div class=\"image-info\">\n            <p class=\"image-caption\">People in Isigny, France, gathered on short notice for the arrival of Charles de Gaulle as he re-established the government of France during World War II, June 14, 1944.<\/p>\n            <p class=\"image-caption\">Frank Scherschel\/Life Picture Collection\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote id=\"single-block_4fc7c3339c0909d8f04704f71b4aea36\" class=\"single-image \">\n    <section>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" data=\"block-image\" data-id=5385734 desc=\"\" caption=\"Frank Scherschel\/Life Picture Collection\/Shutterstock\" title=\"Charles de Gaulle arrived in Isigny as he re-established the French government in the days following the D-Day invasion, June 14, 1944.\" src=\"https:\/\/static.life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/01153826\/116688321-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n                <div class=\"image-info\">\n            <p class=\"image-caption\">Charles de Gaulle arrived in Isigny as he re-established the French government in the days following the D-Day invasion, June 14, 1944.<\/p>\n            <p class=\"image-caption\">Frank Scherschel\/Life Picture Collection\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote id=\"single-block_3a2c0819a78790ac956d1b8de3a88511\" class=\"single-image \">\n    <section>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" data=\"block-image\" data-id=5385742 desc=\"\" caption=\"Frank Scherschel\/Life Picture Collection\/Shutterstock\" title=\"Charles de Gaulle, leader of Free France, spoke to people in the recently bombed town of Isigny, 1944.\" src=\"https:\/\/static.life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/01200634\/00605392-1024x630.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n                <div class=\"image-info\">\n            <p class=\"image-caption\">Charles de Gaulle, leader of Free France, spoke to people in the recently bombed town of Isigny, 1944.<\/p>\n            <p class=\"image-caption\">Frank Scherschel\/Life Picture Collection\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote id=\"single-block_43ab0002fdf81f281ee4de496f3a5b7c\" class=\"single-image \">\n    <section>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" data=\"block-image\" data-id=5385732 desc=\"\" caption=\"Frank Scherschel\/Life Picture Collection\/Shutterstock\" title=\"People gathered to welcome the return of Charles de Gaulle during World War II, June 1944.\" src=\"https:\/\/static.life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/01153818\/116688308-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n                <div class=\"image-info\">\n            <p class=\"image-caption\">People gathered to welcome the return of Charles de Gaulle during World War II, June 1944.<\/p>\n            <p class=\"image-caption\">Frank Scherschel\/Life Picture Collection\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote id=\"single-block_27e21fb4289952a0eb0472c98ecf5f3b\" class=\"single-image \">\n    <section>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" data=\"block-image\" data-id=5385737 desc=\"\" caption=\"Frank Scherschel\/Life Picture Collection\/Shutterstock\" title=\"People salvaged furniture from their houses at Isigny during World War II, Italy, June 1944.\" src=\"https:\/\/static.life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/01153838\/116688333-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n                <div class=\"image-info\">\n            <p class=\"image-caption\">People salvaged furniture from their houses at Isigny during World War II, Italy, June 1944.<\/p>\n            <p class=\"image-caption\">Frank Scherschel\/Life Picture Collection\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote id=\"single-block_36cd4020f48d217bb68f18d4f502288f\" class=\"single-image \">\n    <section>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" data=\"block-image\" data-id=5385728 desc=\"\" caption=\"Frank Scherschel\/Life Picture Collection\/Shutterstock\" title=\"World War II, June 1944.\" src=\"https:\/\/static.life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/01153755\/00605402-1024x703.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n                <div class=\"image-info\">\n            <p class=\"image-caption\">World War II, June 1944.<\/p>\n            <p class=\"image-caption\">Frank Scherschel\/Life Picture Collection\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Americans who are not all that well versed in history may only know Charles de Gaulle as a man with an airport in Paris named after him. But if you want to know why that airport is named for him, take a look at the photograph of a group of young girls assembled in the &#8230; <a title=\"A Battered Town Welcomes A Savior\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.life.com\/history\/a-battered-town-welcomes-a-savior\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":5385741,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[2661,686,19,2662,1764],"class_list":["post-5385727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","tag-charles-de-gaulle","tag-france","tag-frank-scherschel","tag-isigny","tag-world-war-ii"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Battered Town Welcomes A Savior - LIFE<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.life.com\/history\/a-battered-town-welcomes-a-savior\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Battered Town Welcomes A Savior - LIFE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Americans who are not all that well versed in history may only know Charles de Gaulle as a man with an airport in Paris named after him. 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Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.life.com\/history\/a-battered-town-welcomes-a-savior\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"LIFE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-02T15:56:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-02T15:56:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/01153850\/116688371.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2322\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bill Syken\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bill Syken\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.life.com\/history\/a-battered-town-welcomes-a-savior\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.life.com\/history\/a-battered-town-welcomes-a-savior\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Bill Syken\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.life.com\/#\/schema\/person\/883131cdd6c2606be8d59b3282b8c5a6\"},\"headline\":\"A Battered Town Welcomes A Savior\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-02T15:56:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-02T15:56:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.life.com\/history\/a-battered-town-welcomes-a-savior\/\"},\"wordCount\":445,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.life.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.life.com\/history\/a-battered-town-welcomes-a-savior\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/01153850\/116688371.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"charles de gaulle\",\"France\",\"Frank Scherschel\",\"isigny\",\"World War II\"],\"articleSection\":[\"History\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.life.com\/history\/a-battered-town-welcomes-a-savior\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.life.com\/history\/a-battered-town-welcomes-a-savior\/\",\"name\":\"A Battered Town Welcomes A Savior - 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