An Experience not to be Forgotten

One of the highlights of our trip was, without a doubt, visiting the coast of Normandy, the site of the D-day invasion of 1944. I had been there once, nine years ago with my parents, but I think I had a greater appreciation for it this time around. This is Utah Beach, one of the five landing beaches. It's so peaceful there... it's hard to imagine what it was like on the morning of June 6.

What I love about this particular piece of history is that it's the epitome of service, sacrifice, courage, honor, and all that America's supposed to stand for. Not all of our military campaigns have been so cut and dry, but the righteous justification for the D-day invasion is pretty much indisputable.

What struck me the most was that Americans, Canadians, and Britons spilt their blood on the shores of France for people who weren't their kin, neighbor, or even their fellow countryman. Americans laid down their lives in large number to liberate complete strangers living thousands of miles away on another continent. Talk about self sacrifice!
I loved this tribute to the Navy, but it can likewise be applied to all branches of the military...the Navy, Army, Air Force, and Marines that all participated.
At several locations in Normandy I was happy to see the French and American flag flying side by side. These days the French are often the butt of American jokes, and vice-versa, but we have saved each other's necks throughout history. They came to our rescue in the Revolutionary War, and we got to return the favor almost 200 years later. And say what you will about the French, but I personally love them, and I know that at least the older generation has not forgotten America's sacrifice.

For example, when I was a missionary in France we knocked on a door, and a very elderly man answered it. He had to be in his eighties or even nineties. He didn't understand who we were or what we wanted, but when he realized we were Americans he literally began to cry. I mean, real tears. He was crying. He said how grateful he was for Americans and what they did in the war and then he told us to stay right there as he went back into the house. A few minutes later he brought out some chocolate. I was kind of confused, but hey, free chocolate. They haven't forgotten.

One more quick one: as a missionary I once had lunch at one of the longtime member's home in Strasbourg. This couple was in their seventies or eighties. They recounted how Strasbourg was occupied by the Nazis and about the night they sat in bed listening to the radio and heard the news that the Allied forces had landed in France. They described how ecstatic and relieved they were as they embraced each other, although it would take almost 9 more months for the allies to liberate Strasbourg.

This is Point-du-Hoc. I couldn't believe what they told us happened here. Point-du-Hoc forms a salient into the ocean and from there you can see Utah Beach on your left and Normandy Beach on your right. For this reason, it was crucial for the Allies to take out a German battery of guns that could fire down upon the invading forces. So, a select Ranger battalion was chosen for the extremely dangerous mission of scaling the sheer cliff walls with hooks and rope ladders. It was a very difficult mission, but they were successfully able to scale the cliffs only to find, once up top, that the Germans had already removed the guns a few days earlier. They encountered fierce counterattacks and their reinforcements never came, so after the smoke had cleared, only 90 of the 225 were still capable of fighting... the rest casualties. Even though the guns had already been moved, their mission was valuable because they were able to take out enemy observers who, by being able to have a good view of both beaches, would be able to call down fire.

AAAND, this story was particularly interesting to me, because my hunk of a husband is a Ranger!!! Yeah, he once scaled the balcony of our family cabin when we were locked out. He could have totally been one of those rangers at Point-du-Hoc. Go Rangers!
The view of Utah beach from Point-du-Hoc.
The view of Normandy Beach from Point du Hoc.

One of the remaining German batteries at Point du Hoc.

Ben met this 6'10" ex-marine (I'm not joking, he was a bald giant!) who was cruising around in this awesome jeep. Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture of him. He honestly looked like he could take on about 10 Germans at once. But, he let Ben sit in his jeep.
Saint-Mere-Eglise. We didn't get to stay here for more than ten minutes because a liter of milk spilled in the back of the car, right in the parking lot outside this church. Yeah, not one of the happiest moments of our trip. I have a bad habit of not screwing lids on tight and Ben has about had it with all the spills over the past 5 years of being married to me.

But Saint-Mere-Eglise was an important objective point and the first town liberated in France by the paratroopers. If you look closely in the left hand corner, you can see a paratrooper hanging from the steeple.

What was amazing about the little villages along the coastline was that they looked as if they hadn't changed a bit since the war. It felt like you were traveling back in time, except from what I've seen in pictures, the roads weren't paved back in '44.

This was at the American cemetery where a French guide gave us a very interesting tour.

There are close to 10,000 Americans buried at the cemetery, 40% of the fatalities the first few months of the invasion. Of course, not many of the graves were decorated, so to make up for the lack of flowers, they have planted huge rose gardens throughout the cemetery.

The story behind this gravesite, told by our guide, had me crying! The man buried here was killed during D-day, but had been misidentified as a Canadian soldier. His wife, who he had been married to for only a few months before leaving to war, was told several different reports about her husband... he was MIA, he was a prisoner, he was dead... etc. She never got the full story and after the war even went to Europe to look for him. It wasn't until the 1990's that he was correctly identified (a story in and of itself) and by then his widow had moved and couldn't be located. She was finally found in 2004 and was told the truth about what happened to her husband. Since then, she has faithfully come to his gravesite every year on Memorial Day and stays about three weeks. She sends flowers on every occasion (this picture was taken on the 4th of July) and she never remarried. All the employees at the cemetery know her and our guide said she was a really special lady... she said her husband never had more than one wife, and so she would never have more than one husband.

And these two crosses mark the burial sites of the Niland brothers, the brothers who inspired the Saving Private Ryan movie. There was truly such a special sacred feeling at the cemetery, one I've never felt anywhere else.
And on a lighter note, back at the hotel. C loves her toothbrush...
And thanks to my mom for sending this very adequate sunbonnet...
And bath time for the girls!

So now I'm all interested in learning more about D-day. As a history teacher, I at least knew the basics, but this visit made me want to learn all I can! So, now I've started this book:

So far, it's awesome.