I took a day long bus trip to Normandy to see Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, the American cemetery and a cider farm. I think it was a good trip, since I'm only in France two weeks, but I would like to come back and spend more time in Normandy to do it all at my own pace. We were on a strict schedule and the tour guide kept reminding us what time to meet to go to the next stop. For a one day tour, it was fine, though.
Utah beach monument dedicated to the units that landed here June 6, 1944
70 years ago, began the final allied assault against the German forces in Europe. I am glad to have had the opportunity to visit this most historic region of France. I never took the opportunity when I was in the Air Force, stationed in Germany and have always wanted to go to Normandy.
Utah Beach looks so peaceful now, like a California beach
As you can see from the photos I took, it was a beautiful day on the Normandy coast. It was raining June 6, 1944, and the landing had already been delayed a day or two because of the foul weather. On my visit, I noticed there were signs indicating that no lifeguards were present and to swim at your own risk. Today, though, the only people on the beach were here specifically for historical reasons.
The evening before I left for Normandy I was chatting with an eighteen year old American here in Paris. I said I was going to Normandy to see the D-Day beaches. He asked me, "What was D-Day?"
How do I answer that question in a casual conversation? At least he was inquisitive enough to want to learn. That is a good start.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
—Life of Reason, Reason in Common Sense, Scribner's, 1905, p. 284
George Santayana
I explained to him the historical significance of what occurred at D-Day and left it at that.
French and U.S. flags fly side-by-side at Utah Beach
As many of you know, one of my favorite websites is Urinal.net, where people send in photos of urinals from around the world. Ever wondered what the urinals at the Cincinatti Reds stadium, or the Taj Majal look like? Of course you have! Well, here is a photo of the urinals at the Utah Beach museum.
Urinals at Utah Beach museum - Freshly used, I might add!
We headed to a cider farm where the owner gave us a tour of the orchard and keg room before providing a tasting of cider and apple liquor. In the photo below, that's the owner of the 16th century old cider farm on the left. I thought the cider tasted a bit like champagne, and the aperitif was delicious. I did not taste the Calvados, the apple cider white lightning, but from the reaction of fellow travelers, it leaned more toward the 80 proof than 40 proof of the reported range.
At the cider farm tasting cider
Our next stop was Pointe du Hoc that received a torrent of bombings leaving the landscape filled with craters from the bombs that were dropped. The germans had moved the large guns back to the woods, so the allies had to destroy them after the air assault.
Landscape at Pointe du Hoc where the bombs tore up the landscape
Hard to get a perspective in these photos of how deep these craters really are
The german guns were pointed out to sea toward Omaha beach to the north and Utah beach to the south. We needed to take them out to help the GIs who landed on the beaches.
Looking toward Omaha Beach and the sea where the assault was launched
We were able to walk through a couple german pill boxes and gun emplacements. These were so reinforced, they could almost take a direct hit.
German gun emplacement and pill box at Pointe du Hoc
Before heading to the American Cemetery above Omaha beach, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant overlooking the sea. I did have the fish, even though I'm a vegetarian. When in Rome ...
We had a surprisingly good meal, dessert and coffee here before going to the American Cemetery
This being the week of Memorial Day, and June 6 being the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landing, I was happy to come to the American Cemetery above Omaha beach. Platforms and stages were being erected for Barack Obama and other dignitaries from around the world for the celebration next Friday. There will be no tours to Normandy next week due to the high security.
16 sets of brothers are buried in the American cemetery
If you are in Paris on Vacation, and cannot go to Normandy on your own time, a one-day tour may be sufficient. I am glad I went and will always remember.
More photos from my trip to Normandy, France are posted at the link below:
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