Olivier Pinta  Last Known Position N49 22.910 W001 47.334

My dear friend Olivier died in February 2005. For many of my visitors Olivier was the "Frenchman" they got to know here in Normandy. He always thanked them for America's part in the liberation of France, and always flew a forty eight star flag in his garden when he knew I had visitors.  The flag had been liberated by his father from a visiting American ship, just after the end of the war.
Olivier also was an invaluable aide for me when researching the occupation and liberation of Normandy. Much of the local information contained in both this web site and www.atlantikwall.org.uk came from him. He was childlike in his enthusiasm for the many avenues that his interests led him.
Olivier was known to his friends as Mr Gadget, if it was cutting edge technology he had to have it, even if on most occasions he had no idea how to use it. He had a digital camera that cost about the same as a small family car, but we never saw a really good photograph taken on it.
He bought a new GPS that we convinced him would not work a night, because it could not see the satellites in the dark.
During the liberation celebrations last year, Olivier who was also a town councillor had invited the American Consul to the event. My memory of Olivier is him handing his crash helmet to the consul whilst he went off looking for another bottle of champagne.
He would have liked the idea of having a page on a web site to his memory, and it is possible that even now he is getting an angel to show him how to access the Internet.