In the Army in France on Aug. 15, 1944, I was on my way from Semoine to
Troyes on some military business. My jeep got a flat tire outside of this
little farming community about halfway. As I finished changing tires — of
course, I was crumby — I saw these people coming in from the field and
washing up in some tubs near the barn. I drove my jeep up into the driveway
and in French asked permission to wash my hands. They said, "Certainly."
And they asked, "How come you're an American soldier but you speak
French?" So I went into the whole explanation about my ancestors
emigrating from French Canada. They said, "What is your name?" So I told
them, "Fran-swah BOOR-see-yay." They looked at each other. "Did we hear
right — BOOR-see-yay?" I said, "Yeah." They said, "That's our family name,
too."
Well, I never left that place till 3 in the afternoon. They invited me in.
They were going to have dinner. Because it was a holy day of obligation, the
Feast of the Assumption, they worked only a half day. They had a big meal. I
was the honored guest. The wine flowed. And the talk — I tell you it was one
of the best memories that I have. And it was just accidental that I fell on
that place and here was a family by the same name. Who knows — way back
— if we were related?
(Francis Bourcier was a phone company executive after the war and a
selectman. He chaired the Town Hall Building Committee.)
Copyright, Durham Caldwell and Ludlow (Mass.) Historical Commission
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