NORMANDY, France (WTHR) - A congresswoman captured an emotional ceremony while attending events commemorating the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-California) tweeted video from the Normandy American Cemetery Thursday. She said she was visiting the grave of a friend's father in the cemetery when she saw a soldier rubbing sand on the headstone.
"The letters on the white crosses almost disappear in the brightness of the stone, so a soldier fills the indentations with sand from Omaha Beach to bring the name forward," Rep. Speier wrote.
The 45-second video shows the soldier rubbing the sand onto the headstone of Maj. William A. Richards, then carefully wiping it away with a sponge. The inscription on the stone reads clearly once he is done.
"It sent shivers down my spine," Speier wrote.
An online memorial to those who died in Normandy notes Richards served with the 112th Engineer Combat Batallion. He entered the service in Michigan.
He died on D-Day and was honored with the Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart and the World War II Victory Medal.