Ellen Conway Bellone: An Unexpected Memory

AN UNEXPECTED MEMORY

by Ellen Conway Bellone

We rented a car to drive from the Tunis airport to Sidi Bou Said which sits atop a steep hill above the Mediterranean Sea. At our modest Tunisian hotel, we befriended a French woman and her British husband who were spending her inheritance from her parents’ French Colonial investments which had to remain in Tunisia.

Our bed had a bottom sheet that could not be tucked under the thin mattress, but our travels from luxury hotels to tent camping had made us adaptable; we worked it out. The unlocked door was roped by an arch of jasmine. It was a scent that I have never forgotten. Our new acquaintances had spent several enjoyable vacations with the hotel owners, their friends. We spent time with all of them in the beautiful ancient courtyard.

Walks down the steep hill to the sea for an evening cocktail were Hollywood romantic. We had come to Tunisia to visit ancient Carthage. A detailed map guided our walk from Sidi Bou Said. A spot on the map attracted our attention. Nearby was the North Africa American Cemetery. It is a beautiful spot with 2,841 tombstones and a Wall of the Missing bearing 3,724 names.

A young GI greeted us. He wanted company because often in a typical day not a single visitor shows up. He suggested that we return for Memorial Day when he said a group of Tunisian politicians and a couple of American diplomats would

gather. He called it a sad day because the gathered were not families of the soldiers or ordinary American veterans.

It was a sunny day. Warm but not hot. Our GI Joe greeted us warmly. We stood under the beautiful colonnade to await the ceremony. Only those Tunisians with governmental obligations joined the few US diplomats. There we were in hiking clothes, a bit embarrassed until our national anthem was played as only a very small Marine Corps band can.

Uninspiring speeches followed. But then the sound of a soulful trumpet played taps. I looked at my husband through my tears and saw him brush away his own.

Our visit to the ancient Carthage sites does not stand out like this Memorial Day in Carthage.

Thank you, GI JOE!

CNN (May 30, 2022): The US is set to bring home and identify the remains of unknown World War II soldiers from the only American cemetery in Africa, the US Embassy in Tunisia said on Monday, Memorial Day.