Both of my brothers and a brother in law crossed paths at Normandy. My oldest was a Combat Engineer and spent a year or more in England preparing the infrastructure for the invasion and then helped set up the first floating docks soon after. BiL was with a engineer company for the 9th Air Force and helped build the first air field for the P47s on D-Day + 6 or 7. My other brother was a bombardier on a B17 and his first mission was behind the area on D-Day + 15 or 16. They all made it home and raised families and yes, they all had gardens...
God bless em all. My father-in-law was a B17 pilot shot down on mission 16 over east Germany. Uncle Curtiss was killed on the beach in North Africa. My grandfather never quite recovered from this event.