After the Battle of Mortain, the 30th Division was on the move across France.  The Germans were withdrawing to the Seine River, and their army was nearly surrounded by the Allies at the Falaise Gap.  About 100,000 German soldiers fought their way out of the trap, and moved east to the German Border behind the Siegfried Line.   The story of the German escape through the Falaise Gap is not well known, but was a major event at the time.  Although not as big as Dunkirk which was the escape of the British and French soldiers in 1940, the escape of 100,000 + Germans to continue fighting behind the West Wall and in the Battle of the Bulge was a significant accomplishment.  At Dunkirk, Hitler has been criticized by military historians for inexplicably halting his tanks for several days, which gave the Allies enough time to make nearly a full escape.  Similary, at the Falaise gap, the Allied commanders have been critiscized for not being aggressive enough with their tanks when they had the advantage.  They could have closed the Gap and surrounded nearly 5 Divisions of retreating Germans.  It's easier to be armchair historians, though.

As the march across France continued, the German defense at the Seine was overcome by the Allies, and the campaign continued to move eastward.

The 119th moved rapidly across France in a series of long drives (called "rat races by the GIs), one 125 miles and another 168 miles at a time, untimately ending up in Tournai Belgium in early September.  Only resistance from the Germans or artillery attacks slowed the advance.  A number of battles and skimishes were fought, even though the Germans were retreating. 

By mid-September, the 119th was on the border of the Netherlands.  Dad had likely joined the 119th by then.