On D’day, the paratroopers were scattered all over Normandy. 200 men from the 507th PIR escaped the floods of the Merderet river and gathered in a tiny village on the high grounds overlooking the marshes.
Several of them were saved by the villagers of Graignes. During the next days, the paratroopers engaged forward elements from the 17th SS Panzerdivision.
On the following Sunday, the Germans launched an assault on the village.
After the battle, the Germans executed wounded soldiers and civilians including the priest and his deputy.
They later destroyed the church and most of the nearby houses.
The remains of the church stand on the top of the hill overlooking the marshes.
