D-day and Normandy

Tuesday, 8 March

Our guide was a native of the area – Francis. He had a binder of applicable photos, and hundreds more on his iPad. We could tell that Francis was passionate about the invasion and liberation. I learned a great deal from him.

 

 

 

THE GERMAN CEMETERY

Francis first took us to the German war cemetery. After the D-day landings, all the soldiers – American, British, Canadian and German, were buried in one cemetery. Later, the allies were given land for their cemeteries, leaving the Germans without a nice resting place. Finding land for the site was difficult, for the French did not have fond memories of the Germans. Eventually, money was raised and land found. Their 21,300 headstones are flat.

STE MERE EGLISE

We next traveled to Ste Mère Eglise. The paratroopers landed everywhere, but where they had planned. The early (1:40 AM) landings, directly on the town, resulted in heavy casualties for the paratroopers. Some buildings near the church were on fire that night, and they illuminated the sky. Everyone was fighting the fire, including the German soldiers. The American soldiers were easy targets and some were sucked into the fire. Many hanging from trees and utility poles were shot before they could cut loose.

In the 1962 movie, “The Longest Day”, Red Buttons played John Steele, (a real live soldier), who had his parachute caught on the church’s roof.

 

 

 

The French have memorialized John Steele, hanging from the roof. He was actually on the other side of the church, where the Germans did not see him – surviving the war.

 

 

However, not many walk to the back of the church, so there hangs John – or his image - on the front side, facing the parking lot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Church’s medieval stained glass was destroyed during the war, but the people replaced them with wonderful scenes honoring the paratroopers who liberated Ste Mère Eglise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A museum and visitor center has been built near the church, with a monument entitled, “The Day They Came.”

 

 

 

 

 

THE MOVIE

 

In the early 1960s, when “The Longest Day” was filmed, they used the actual battle sites - Ste Mère Eglise, Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sword, Gold and Juno. By the time movies like “Saving Private Ryan” and “Band of Brothers” were in production, too many antennae and monuments had been erected on the Normandy beaches. Those movies were filmed in Ireland.

 

 

THE BEACH INVASION SITES

This was an “American” tour, so only sites involving US forces were visited. The tour took nine hours.

 

Signs like this are scattered throughout the Normandy battle grounds. They are posted on the site of the soldier’s death.

 

 

 

 

HEROS ALL OVER THE PLACE!

During the invasion, this church in Angoville au Plain was turned into a medical station. Medics Robert Wright and Kenneth Moore saved over 80 lives here – they lost but one soldier. German soldiers found them, but when they saw that Wright and Moore were treating everyone - Germans too, they departed.

 

 

SAD NOTE: France has 40,000 churches, but only 15,000 priests. 25,000 churches like the one pictured above are no longer active. The parishioners in Angoville au Plain travel to Ste Mère Eglise.

POINTE DU HOC

Pointe du Hoc (old French for “Hook Point”), was a “big gun” site. Colonel Rudder’s 2nd Ranger Battalion were charged with scaling the 90 foot cliffs and destroying the guns. They did it, but at a great cost. It’s not as well known as Utah and Omaha Beach. However, the loses at Pointe du Hoc were greater (percentage wise) those on Omaha Beach. Of the 225 Rangers, 135 were killed or wounded.

 

Gerry is standing in one of the hundreds of bomb craters at Pointe du Hoc. Over the years, they’ve become shallower.  Many German soldiers were killed and never found – so each crater is considered a grave site.

 

 

UTAH BEACH

32,000 Americans landed here. They lost 200 men.

NORMANDY AMERICAN CEMETERY AND MEMORIAL & OMAHA BEACH

We had seen places that put a few tears in the eyes, but this place is very tender and sweet. Beautiful – US land, given to us by the French. When this cemetery was established, families were given the choice of having their loved ones returned to the United States, or buried here, overlooking Omaha Beach. 14,000 chose to have the remains returned, and 9,387 Americans rest here. About 300 of them are unknown.

The cemetery is located on the bluffs overlooking Omaha Beach where over 43,000 soldiers fought. 3,000 paid the ultimate price.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FRENCH FAMILIES

In 2000, a French couple founded Les Fleurs de la Memoire, which adopts the graves of American servicemen who died during the Normandy invasion of World War II. The volunteer group encourages French families to lay flowers on the graves when the Americans' own families can't do it.

Over 8,000 French families have adopted a grave, and this commitment passes from the parents to the children and their children.  This assures that these men and women will be remembered for years and years.

"Sometimes people take flowers from their own gardens. And they say it is like a son, like a cousin, like a brother. It is a member of the family."