In some ways it seemed a bit out of place. In the middle of the Normandy, France city of Caen, about as French a place as you can imagine, full of open air markets and cheese and wine and rolling countryside all around, a vivid reminder of terror striking at the heart of New York City and the U.S. … 9/11.

The exhibit, full of artifacts and background and murals, was being staged at the Caen Memorial museum, And that’s where it began to make a bit more sense. The museum is there because a few miles away American and other soldiers died or were injured in their thousands on D-Day. It was most decidedly a turning point in World War Two.

What happened at the World Trade Center and elsewhere also left thousands dead and injured. And is also seen as a turning point in what came to be know as another world … or global … war … this one on terror.

And so the connection is there. But what about France, land of Freedom Fries and America-bashing? Is this a place that really cares about these tragic events?

Well I can tell you from experience, the French cared at the time. I was based in Paris at the time and found out about the attack when I (and Producer Cicely also along on this shoot) walked in to the Reuters office and was greeted by a usually laid-back French cameraman who pulled me over to the TV to see what was happening.

The spirit of the moment is best summed up in the Le Monde newspaper line, “We are all New Yorkers.”

In the years that followed, yes, France had its differences with the U.S. especially over the Iraq war. But a new, more pro-American President Nicholas Sarkozy is now in charge, and maybe it s time once again to make that connection with past events and present challenges.

The heart of the exhibit are the objects, the big and impersonal pieces of buildings and airplanes … down to the very personal like office keys, souvenir pins, a fireman’s boot.

On September 12, 2001 I was on a plane from Paris to Pakistan and the source of the trouble (to meet up with cameraman Mal who also happened to be on this shoot). I missed the immediate connection with the events and the horror. What I saw helped bring it all back.

And I think that s really what the show is about for the French, who also missed being there for the dust and the wreckage. One Frenchman I talked to staring at the items told me about “the big emotion” he felt. Another woman told me we should “never forget.”

Which is what Tom and Eileen Roger were hoping for when they had the idea for the show (with a lot of help from the New York State Museum). Their daughter Jean died in one of the planes that hit the Twin Towers. I stood with Eileen as she proudly gazed at her daughter’s flight attendant uniforms in one of the display cases.

A little bit later I came across a D-Day survivor. The old gentleman was in his uniform signing autographs for some children. Proud, too. Again, connections. Two events. Maybe not that far apart. A lot of emotions.

If you’re in France this summer make the trip to the Caen Memorial museum. Take in the show. It’ll help you get closer to home.

Check out my report from America’s Newsroom:

Then, this one from Special Report: