Mac Racken Bridge in Mayenne, France

The Mac Racken Bridge in Mayenne, France has cycled through half a dozen names since construction finished in 1834, but the one that stuck comes from World War Two. Atlas Obscura reports that as German forces retreated on August 5, 1944, they rigged the bridge with one hundred twenty-five explosive charges to stop the advancing Americans from crossing. Sergeant James Dougal MacRacken of the 315th Engineer Combat Battalion went in and defused them, saving the bridge but not himself. Two years later, the town mounted a small plaque on the stone bridge honoring his sacrifice, a modest marker easy to miss on a crossing that otherwise looks like any other in provincial France.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton