On their third day in France, the Longview High School Choir had a deeply moving opportunity to perform on hallowed ground.

The Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial is the final resting place of 4,404 American service members, most of whom lost their lives in the Normandy and Brittany Campaigns of 1944.

On Thursday, June 6, the Longview Choir participated in a tribute ceremony here.

Later in the day, the group toured Mont St. Michel, a thousand-year-old tidal island and abbey off the northwestern coast of France. It was occupied by German soldiers until the liberation of France. In 1979, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage site.

While touring the site, a group of American WWII veterans asked members to perform for them, which the choir obliged.

In their conversations, the men encouraged the students to be open to opportunities to do good deeds and stand up for what’s right.

Many of those who stopped on the street to watch had tears in their eyes — touched by the chance encounter.

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