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Says he won't forget sacrifi ce of America's troops BY NISSA LAPOINT The French don't forget. Even 70 years after that heroic day June 6, 1944, when Ameri- can troops liberated France from invading Nazis, the French at home and abroad remember the freedom it afforded them. It's a time in history Father Franck "Nathanael" Pujos of St. Catherine of Siena Church will always remember. "As a Frenchman and as a priest, I'm really aware of what we owe this young generation of soldiers who died for us French to be free," said Father Pujos, 44, who is a parochial vicar and chaplain at St. Catherine School. Without his freedom, he may not have become a priest, he said. "I'm a priest today … because I was raised in a free country, not occupied by the Nazis, nor by the Russian communists after World War II like half of Europe," Father Pujos said. As a young boy growing up in Paris, his family instilled in him a deep respect and appreciation for the sacrifi ce of thousands of soldiers who died that day. During the Normandy inva- sion, called D-Day, some 156,000 allied troops launched the larg- est seaborne invasion in history against the German-occupied northern France and into West- ern Europe. Causalities reached an esti- mated 12,000 that day along the 50-mile stretch of the Normandy beach. The victory contributed to the allied forces' eventual vic- tory over Nazi Germany. His grandparents and parents, Jerome and Sylvie Pujos, always spoke to him about it. When he was young, his grandmother took him to the American cem- etery in Normandy to pay their respect for the soldiers. INDEX Archbishop's Column ......................2 The Catholic Difference ..................4 Real Life Catholic .............................4 Letters to the Editor .......................4 Vatican News ...................................13 Nun of the Above quiz ...................17 Bulletin Board ................................. 18 Service Directory ...................... 18-19 French priest still thankful for D-Day AS A YOUNG BOY, Father Nathanael Pujos, right, recalled an emotional visit with his grandmother to an American cemetery in Normandy after World War II. He saw the fallen soldiers as he- roes and imitated their fi ght against the Nazis using an Ameri- can fl ag draped over his shoulders. JUNE 4, 2014 114 Years of Service to the Gospel Volume XC - No. 22 www.DenverCatholicRegister.org I Follow us on INSIDE CATHOLIC CHARITIES PAGE 3 TRUTH & BEAUTY PAGE 7 Finding God in the periodic chart Have an effect, connect HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! PAGE 10 He's Daddy, Pop, Dad, Old Man, Papa In work-life balance, choose family, a father advises PAGE 11 PAGE 10 Beer, brats and manhood to the allied forces' eventual vic- His grandparents and parents, Jerome and Sylvie Pujos, always spoke to him about it. When he was young, his grandmother took him to the American cem- etery in Normandy to pay their emotional visit with his grandmother to an American cemetery in Normandy after World War II. He saw the fallen soldiers as he- roes and imitated their fi ght against the Nazis using an Ameri- PHOTO PROVIDED D-DAY BY U.S. ARMY See D-Day, Page 13