Auvergne “Abe” Breault

ESCANABA — A bench commemorating a young man from Escanaba who died on D-Day will be dedicated on Saturday, August 9, at Sand Point in Escanaba.

Auvergne “Abe” Breault was lost at the age of 20 during the D-Day invasion, June 6, 1944. In 2024, Matt Cottone, a teacher at Van Hoosen Middle School in Rochester Hills, and his then-student Ian Smith, researched Auvergne’s story, sifting through photographs, letters, documents, and family accounts. On the 80th anniversary of the invasion, Cottone and Smith traveled to Normandy to present a eulogy for Auvergne Breault. A copy of the eulogy is preserved in the Normandy American Cemetery Archives.

A summary of the history they assembled was printed in the Winter 2024 edition of the Delta County Historical Society’s newsletter.

During the past school year, students at Van Hoosen Middle School raised money to purchase the bench, which is installed along the shore of Little Bay de Noc on the north side of the museum at Sand Point.

On Saturday, at 1:00 p.m., members of the Breault family and Mr. Cottone will meet to dedicate the bench and to remember Auvergne Breault.

The public is welcome to join them for the dedication.