Ben and I were delighted to be invited by the French attaches to Spain, Francois and Xavier, to attend the ceremonies commemorating the 75th anniversary of the D-day invasion in Normandy. At first I wasn't so sure I would go... I had already been to Normandy on three different occasions, and it would be tough to get away during the last month of school, and arrange for childcare, etc. Mom encouraged me to go while she was visiting last month, and of course Ben was more than game. So, we made it happen. I'm so glad. Some things are definitely worth the effort.
We only had one full day there, and two half days... so it wasn't much time, but we packed in what we could. We flew into Paris, rented a car, and headed out to Normandy. Although the other American attaches had been invited, along with the British and Canadian, our group ended up being quite small. It was myself, Ben, Kevin (another American army officer who works at the embassy), and Xavier. Xavier forgot his driver's license, so he couldn't rent a car. The four of us crammed into a teeny rental, and since Kevin is 6'7", he sat shotgun. I was in the back seat with Xavier and Ben drove. Talk about an odd arrangement. We didn't touch down in Paris until late afternoon on the 5th, so by the time we hit the road we were in rush hour traffic. It took us a good four hours to travel to Grand Camp Maisy, arriving at almost 9 pm. We went directly to a restaurant where we were greeted by Xavier's wife's (Tatiana) aunt and uncle, Gerard and Brigette. They were the kindest folks. He had such a kind, gentil light about him, it reminded me so much of the amazing people I met on my mission. My French was pretty rusty, but with a little time it warmed up, and before too long I was communicating pretty effectively with them. They spoke clearly and slowly, and I was amazed at how well I understood. I think the Spanish just speak way too fast, which is why I have a harder time.
It was a seafood restaurant, right in the harbor and I ordered the "huitres" French for oysters, having confused them with moules, or mussels. They brought out the hugest plate of oysters... I should have taken a picture, I could barely stomach them. I think Gerard and Brigette got a kick out of my reaction. I had to basically slurp them down out of their shell, they were FRESH from the ocean, not a thing done to them, you could still taste the salt water. It was freak nasty. Ben went easy and ordered the "seafood platter." I couldn't stop laughing when I saw his plate. He definitely had his work cut out for him... snails, whole shrimp, every type of crustacean you could think of. Poor guy but he handled it like a champ.
On the way back to the restaurant I rode in their car, which was fun, and we did a quick stop at Point-du-Hoc (which I didn't get a picture of), it was close to 11:00 at this point and there wasn't much daylight left, but was amazed at what little remained. We were the only ones there and sweet memories of being there with my dad flooded over me. I miss him so much, but I love times like this when I feel him close.
They welcomed us warmly to their home where we spent the night and had to get up early the next day for the ceremony. They live right on Omaha Beach, as in you walk ten steps from their front door and you're across the street on the beach. Amazing! There were re-enactors out there bright and early at sunrise.
We had to leave early (7:00ish) to drive to the meeting point where they were shuttling all the attendees to the ceremony. Xavier was able to get us VIP seating and treatment because of our association with him. He was escorting an American veteran, 95 years old named Charles Juror living in Alicante, who was receiving the French legion of Honor award. Because of this, we were able to get special bracelets that got us into the tents where they served food and where the veterans and family members were mingling, as well as other foreign dignitaries, military generals, politicians, etc. It was pretty amazing.
We then took our seat at the ceremony and I was just amazed that we actually got to sit where we did. We were in very comfortable chairs close to the stage. The weather couldn't have been lovelier.
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| Waiting for the ceremony to start. Kevin got accosted where ever we went. Everyone wanted a picture with him! |
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| The Media |
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| Waiting for the ceremony to begin... You can see the veterans getting seated on the stage. There were 130ish total, only 30 who were Dday veterans. Not sure how many will be left at the 80th ceremony. |
Both Pres. Macron and Pres. Trump were there along with both First Ladies. The ceremony started almost a half an hour late because Macron didn't show up on time! Both gave fine speeches, although I thought Trump's was a little more personable as he highlighted the heroic stories of various veterans on stage. Macron then awarded five veterans the legion of honor medal, including Mr. Juroe Xavier escorted. So cool! Then they took some time with the veterans
Following the ceremony we wandered the grounds... they were crowded with visitors, there were bands playing and there seemed to be a lot of fanfare. I was grateful this wasn't my first experience there... it was quite the contrast from the subdued and reverent visits of times past.
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| The Red Carpet laid out for the presidents |
Following the ceremony we had to wait around for the buses. We went back to the tent and were able to spend a few minutes with Mr. Juroe. It was interesting to talk to him as he briefly told us of his experience as a logistician on June 6 and how he made two different landings. The first boat he was on was torpedoed so he had to abandon ship. Ben was also speaking to the commander of USAREUR (US Army Europe), General Cavoli, and while I was standing waiting for him, a lady approached me who was waiting to get a ride back with the General. She introduced herself as Susan Eisenhower... indeed the granddaughter of President Eisenhower. How amazing was that! It was surreal to have a sidebar conversation with her while we were waiting on our rides. She said that her family had adjoining property to his in Gettysburg where he retired and she saw him every day in her youth.
After waiting for quite some time to take the bus back, we went to pick up our stuff from Gerard and Brigette's. There were more shenanigans on the beach. And they shared with us pictures from the parade that went through their street.
That night we headed to the large manor of Fracois' aunt and uncle where we spent the night. This French couple were from Paris and came out to Normandy on the weekends. They were a little more formal and stiff compared to Gerard and Brigette. Everyone was grateful for my French skills as I bridged the gap between the two groups. Of course, Xavier is French, but his English isn't too strong. It was helpful that I could translate for Ben and Kevin.
The next afternoon we had to head back to the airport, so we decided to spend our last sliver of time in Carentan, where a 101st re-elistment ceremony was happening in the town square. The setting was unbelievable. There were re-enactors there as well as real soldiers. I'm really glad we went.
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| General Milley, chief of staff of the Army presided over the ceremony. He will assume command as the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff this summer. |
