A video presentation exploring the liberation of a small French village during World War II will be presented March 19 at the Lakehills Community Center.
Karen Downing Ripley will present You Were There, Karen Beth, a video program based on her podcast that recounts her visit to Plélo, a village in the Brittany region of France that was liberated by American troops during World War II. Ripley’s father, Delbert Franklin Downing, was among the soldiers who helped free the village from Nazi occupation.
Ripley said her visit to Brittany revealed the lasting gratitude residents still express toward the American soldiers who helped liberate their community.
She created the podcast to honor the soldiers who fought in the region and to share the ways residents of Plélo continue to commemorate their efforts more than 80 years later.
The project also highlights the role of Gen. George S. Patton’s Third Army, the 15th Cavalry Reconnaissance Group Troop B, Allied forces and the French Resistance in the liberation of Brittany.
Ripley described the project as a tribute to the people of Brittany and their continued remembrance of the American soldiers who fought to free the village.
During the presentation, she will discuss her unexpected arrival in Plélo just days before the village’s annual liberation celebration.
Ripley said she had traveled there to deliver her father’s military records documenting the liberation of the village, unaware that the community was preparing to mark the anniversary.
The program is hosted jointly by the Lakehills Community Center and the Frontier Times Museum Speaker Series.
Barbara Engel, president of the Lakehills Community Center, said, “You Were There, Karen Beth is an intimate storytelling podcast where host Karen Downing Ripley takes listeners on deeply personal journeys through pivotal moments in history and her own life.”
Rebecca Norton, executive director of the Frontier Times Museum, added, “Each episode weaves together personal memoir with historical significance, creating compelling narratives that connect the past with the present.”
The presentation will take place Thursday, March 19, at 5 p.m. at the Lakehills Community Center, 11225 Park Road 37 in Lakehills. The event is free and open to the public.
More information is available at lakehillscommunitycenter. org or frontiertimesmuseum. org.
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