There is little doubt about how Jacques Pignot, 82, of Mont-Saint-Aignan, France, feels about America and Americans.

He shared those feelings and memories from his teenage years in France during World War II with fifth graders during a recent Veteran's Day program at McCormick Elementary School in Moon.

"When we saw the first American soldier, we knew the war was over," said Mr. Pignot, who was visiting his American friends last week.

Mr. Pignot was living in Sainte-Mere-Eglise under German occupation in June 1944, and was in the town square fighting a fire as paratroopers from the U.S. 82nd Airborne began dropping in and around the town in the wee hours June 6.

After suffering severe initial losses, the Americans took control of Ste.-Mere-Eglise shortly before 5 a.m. June 6. It was the first French territory liberated in the D-Day invasion, coming about an hour before the troops hit the nearby beaches in the full-scale attack.

It's an event that continues to color the life of Mr. Pignot.

He spent some time after the invasion identifying the remains of American, British, Canadian and French soldiers and maintaining a cemetery, work that gave him a powerful respect for the sacrifices made in the name of freedom.

And decades later, retiring after 27 years managing a textiles factory in Algeria, he returned to France and started taking part in the annual commemorations of the invasion.

In 2006, at the 62nd D-Day anniversary, Mr. Pignot befriended an American officer on hand for the event -- Marshall Martindale. He spent the next several days hosting his new friend. "I was showing him the good places in town," Mr. Pignot said.

Mr. Martindale returned home to Robinson and shared stories about his new friend with his wife, Shannon, a Moon Area School District teacher. They later flew over for a visit, and this year convinced Mr. Pignot to visit them.

And so Mr. Pignot found himself in front of Mrs. Martindale's class as a Veterans' Day speaker, amused by the children's innocent questions and occasionally befuddled by their English vernacular.

"Who won the war?" one asked. "The Allied," Mr. Pignot replied patiently.

"When were you set free?" he was asked. "We were free June 6."

"Did the war go on only during the day and stop at night?" a student asked. That one drew chuckle. "It's permanent," Mr. Pignot said. "No breaks."

Mr. Pignot was 13 when the Germans invaded France in 1940, living in the town of Isigny-le-Buat. He and his mother moved to Ste.-Mere-Eglise, about 70 miles north, after his father died in 1941.

He said the Germans actually did not bother the residents much, staying mostly in their camps. The hardest part about the occupation was the rationing.

"It was very difficult to get bread," he said. "You needed special tickets. My mother used to raise ducks, chickens and rabbits, which were the easiest to raise for meat. We'd get some eggs to eat, and potatoes from the garden."

Mr. Pignot said he was vaguely aware that some Frenchmen were involved with the resistance, but he was just a boy. "I was too young, so they did not trust me," he said. "There were some in my village, but I only knew after."

Bombing was fairly common in town in the early months of 1944, but a nearby village was hit on June 5. Mr. Pignot, who was by then 17, and a friend rode their bicycles out to see the damage. He said they saw two American fighter planes buzz the town as they arrived back about 8 p.m.

Bells rang at 10 p.m. to warn people of bombing, and a house caught fire shortly afterward. Mr. Pignot and others came out of the houses to fight the fire. He said he later saw some American paratroopers lying dead in the streets, and was with the town's mayor as he tried to convince a German soldier to take a paratrooper prisoner rather than shooting him as he dangled from his parachute lines in a tree.

Mr. Pignot was then ordered home, to be summoned by the mayor in the morning to help American troops -- who by then controlled the town -- find the German commanding officer. Mr. Pignot said the officer was gone, leaving his uniforms hanging in his closet.

The Germans tried to retake Ste.-Mere-Eglise throughout the day June 6, but were held off by the paratroopers. Mr. Pignot was enlisted to help the Americans find what they needed around town.

Meanwhile, six miles up the road, a fierce battle was raging between German defenders and American invaders on Utah Beach. The Americans finally broke the German lines, and linked up with the troops holding Ste.-Mere-Eglise on June 7.

The war would rage in Europe for 11 more months, but for Mr. Pignot that was the key moment. "We are free," he said. "No more Germany. I was so proud when I heard of it."

He also noted that while the relationship between the French and Americans is "complex," and often rather hostile, that is not the case in Normandy. There every town is a monument to American liberation, and the vast American cemeteries are a constant reminder of the price paid for it. There Frenchmen dress up as American troops to re-enact the battle, and do it with pride.

"I was very pleased to come here," Mr. Pignot said.

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