London WWII buff wins trip to Normandy
Nov. 23—His father's passion for World War II spurred the interest of 9-year-old Dyche Young — and inevitably sent him on a trip to some of the war's most historic European sites.
Dyche became obsessed with WWII through a video game, Call of Duty.
"Justin (Dyche's father) bought the video game and Dyche started playing it," said his mother, Karlyle. "He became interested in World War II because of it, even though his pediatrician fussed at me for letting him play such a violent game."
But teachable moments sometimes arise in unexpected ways and such was the case for the London Elementary student.
Dyche's passion was mirrored by his friendship with Adam Boyd, whose family hails from Waynesville, N.C.
"They met at Levi Jackson Park campground where my mother was camping," Karlyle explained. "They found out they both liked WWII. Then they learned they were camping beside each other. While other kids were playing, Dyche and Adam were reliving WWII, fighting the Germans. Their family was here for the archery tournament — Adam's sister is an archer."
The friendship continued and the boys soon learned about a program called Operation Meatball, which takes veterans to monuments established for them. That association came through a friend of Karlyle's cousin who works with the Honor Flight organization.
"Her name is Liberty Phillips. She switched now to working with kids and teaching them about WWII," Karlyle added. "That program is called Bridge to History."
The Operation Meatball contest required applicants to write an essay and submit a video.
"We had to do it over and over," Dyche added. "We probably did 20 videos before we got one we liked."
Their repeated efforts paid off, however — Dyche's video and essay were chosen by the staff of Operation Meatball, as was Adam's, and soon the two friends were planning their trip to Europe to visit WWII war sites.
"When Dyche found out he was going to Europe, he was so excited," Karlyle said. "Justin and I told him and he was over the moon!"
To offset the experience even more, the family was surprised when an anonymous donor from Fort Bragg paid for both Dyche and Adam's expenses for the venture.
Dyche and his father Justin, with Adam and his mother Gina, were among five other youth who flew out from Asheville, N.C. in late September before flying to Europe from Raleigh-Durham airport en route for Europe on Sept. 30.
The first stop was in London, England where the group visited Winston Churchill's War Room.
"It was a bunker but they call it a war room. It had maps and special phones. The furniture was very sparse," Dyche said. "There was a room for Winston Churchill and his wife had another room. It was a bunker they didn't call a bunker."
They also had dinner with the Chelsea Pensioners, a group of retired British soldiers age 65 and older who reside at Royal Hospital Chelsea. Clad in the traditional British military uniform, these men apply for residency rather than face the remainder of their lives alone. The group stayed in the Royal Hospital, where they experienced the foods and climate of the British.
From there the group traveled to France, where they visited numerous historic war sites including the five beaches of Normandy. Normandy was the site of D-Day, June 6, 1944, in which combined American and European forces bombarded the German-occupied eastern Europe.
"We went to Pegasus Bridge, an early D-Day mission," Dyche said. "They unlocked the bridge to stop the flooding the Germans caused."
The devastation from the attack still remains, nearly 80 years after the battle, with Ranville Cemetery housing many veterans from the Normandy Invasion. But it was the Normandy American Cemetery that rang home to Dyche when he located the gravemarker of a man from Kentucky, buried amongst the thousands of men who died on D-Day. Normandy American Cemetery is the sole cemetery in Europe designated for American soldiers.
"There are 9,300 military buried there," Karlyle said.
The Bridge to History tour took the group to all five Normandy Beaches — Sword Beach, Juno Beach, Gold Beach, Omaha Beach and Utah Beach.
For the 9-year-old WWII buff, Gold Beach was the top of the list for his favorite attractions. Gold Beach hosts huge concrete ports where the Allied troops unloaded 78 military vehicles in just 38 minutes as part of the D-Day attack.
Dyche's father Justin collected sand from each beach during the trip, an interesting contrast of the landscape in Normandy.
"Some of the sand is dark, some of it is light like the sand on American beaches," said Karlyle. "Some of it has a lot of shells and pebbles. It's different on each beach."
That was offset even more when Dyche and Adam were permitted to don uniforms and participate in a re-enactment of a battle — giving the youngsters yet another unforgettable experience.
Dyche's top 3 favorites also included Omaha Beach and Sainte-Mere-Eglise. Sainte-Mere-Eglise is a commune along Omaha Beach in which 60 paratroopers landed, forcing the Germans into a two-day battle and is heralded as the first town freed from German control.
Although the trip lasted only one week, the memories it evoked is everlasting. Although Dyche and Adam talked frequently prior to the trip, they remain close friends afterwards. They also keep in touch with the other participants — two sisters from Texas and two boys from Florida and Indiana, respectively.
Dyche spoke to his classmates at London Elementary's annual Veterans Day ceremony, encouraging them to remember WWII.
"People don't think about it," Dyche said. "We don't learn that in school and it's something that should be remembered."
History is a vital part of Dyche's life, even on the local front. A native of London, he is the great-great grandson of Russell Dyche, who not only founded The Sentinel Echo but was a primary player in establishing Levi Jackson State Park and the state's park system. Russell Dyche was also a major player in establishing better roads in rural Kentucky as well as donating the property for A.R Dyche Cemetery in downtown London.
