August 26th, 1944: my godfather was among the liberators of Paris.
Martin ZANI
"His" M10 tank-destroyer
August 1944, North of Beauvais
In these days of the 82nd Anniversary of the Liberation of Paris, I am publishing this tribute to my dearest godfather. With my grandparents and a part of the family I called him "Don Martin" (however, we never spoke Italian together, even when we were alone the two of us); to me he was always Uncl' Martin.
During World War II, he served as a tank-destroyer crewman. In the second photo 2 crew members standing on "his" M10. The photo was taken in 1944, two months after the Allied landings at Omaha Beach.
With his unit they advanced ahead of the French 2nd Armored Division (2e DB) of Marshal Leclerc. Their mission was to eliminate German panzers and clear the way for the French forces on the road to liberate Paris ~ no contestation at all from me, the guys of the French Second Armored Division were heroes! Anyway my godfather and his buddies were integrated in the Leclerc's Division.
I dedicated a song to him and to my godmother in the Blog of this site, at the date of August 26th, 2026:
Click here: 🎙🎼🎶🕺💃
