Mike Bylen has traveled many times to the village of Saint-Germain-Sur-Seves, France where his uncle Peter Bylen was killed while fighting in World War II.
But last month the trip was made all the more special because Roseville native Peter Bylen was honored with a park memorial dedication in his name on the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Saint-Germain-Sur-Seves, known as one of the bloodiest battles of the Normandy Breakout campaign.
“The village only has about 150 residents and every one of them showed up,” Bylen said. “It was truly one of the finest days I’ve ever experienced.”
A picture of the young soldier who was among the 100 killed in that battle is displayed at the park memorial to give a face to the war and to remind people of the young soldiers who gave their lives for freedom.
“July 22 and 23 of 1944 saw quite a clash between the U.S. Army 90th Division and the German paratroopers,” said Bylen. “It worked in our favor, but there were some pretty rough times; almost the entire battalion that my uncle was in was destroyed with 100 soldiers killed, 200 taken prisoner, and 400 wounded.
“A couple of days later, the Americans took that ground, and the people there, they do not forget.”
Bylen, who owns Shepherd’s Hollow, Cherry Creek, and Pine Trace golf courses in Macomb and Oakland counties, never served in the armed forces, but is a lifelong history buff and became especially interested in World War II because of the service of his uncle and his father.
“Family vacations were always to places like Gettysburg, Boston, Washington D.C. — always historic places,” said Bylen. “We all grew up reading a lot and we were just brought up on Americana and its history.”
Although Bylen’s father, John, fought in WWII, he never spoke about his experiences. He died in 1976 and most of the books Bylen read about the war at that time were not written by people who actually lived it. It wasn’t until he read a book by Stephen Ambrose detailing the stories of veterans who were actually on the battlefield that he really began to explore military history in his own family.
“Stephen Ambrose really brought it down to the human level; he interviewed thousands of veterans and wrote about their experiences with D-Day and things like that,” Bylen said. “I started to read everything he wrote.”
At some point, Bylen discovered Ambrose was opening a National World War II Museum in New Orleans. He made a donation to the museum in his dad’s name, and for several years has been part of the museum’s Board of Trustees.
“Along the way I started to get curious about my uncle’s journey,” Bylen said. “I went to visit the battlefield in Saint-Germain-Sur-Seves for the first time in 2018 and met the farmer who owned the land where my uncle was killed.
“He allowed me and my good friend from France who came to help translate to go down on the field and it was a really emotional moment.”
Bylen traveled to France last month with several of his family members for the special ceremony to dedicate the memorial and honor his uncle Peter.
“The space is dedicated to Peter Bylen; they wanted to put a face on the place and the battle,” said Bylen. “They wanted to personalize it.”
The official ceremony, which featured both the American and French national anthems, was followed by a reception where people shared war stories about their parents or grandparents.
“It was like a big hug from the community,” Bylen said. “You don’t have to have someone who was killed there to feel it; they appreciate Americans and what our forefathers did for them.”
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