Alexandre Renaud war time mayor of Sainte-MËre-Eglise personal account… In the starlit night of 5 and 6 june 1944, Alexandre Renaud saw the first U.S paratroopers land in Normandy. In the following hours, he witnessed the liberation of his village, house by house and street by street. This book, published in 1945, and a best-seller from 1945-47, is a remarkable testimony by the author, enriched in its new presentation by many historical photographs never before published.