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Published: April 29th 2008
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France - American Cemetery & Memorial, at Colleville Sur Mer, Normandy.
Monday 28th April 2008
I was totally unprepared for the emotion of visiting the Normandy American Cemetery & Memorial.
We had originally booked a tour of Omaha & Utah beaches, but we had had a lot of long days over the past few weeks touring through the Loire Valley and Provence, and we needed to pace ourselves a bit. For Reagan, constant full days out were just too tiring. So we decided that we would do Villars Bretonneau & Amiens, when we were in Paris with Dean in late June, and just visit the beaches here ourselves.
The Normandy American Cemetary and Memorial is between St-Laurent-sur-Mer and Colleville-sur-Mer, and overlooks Omaha Beach. We took the bus from Bayeux to the cemetery, passing through a few gorgeous little towns such a Port de Bessin, situated along a river with many old boats in dock. It only took about 30 minutes to get there, and the bus dropped us off right outside.
Even at the entrance you immediately feel a sense of quietness, and as you walk through the car park there are a number of signs
reminding you that this is a place which deserves respect. This is not a place where children are allowed to run freely through the gardens screaming with delight, nor it is a place where you can shout across to a friend to “come look at this!”. It is a solemn place for reflection and remembrance.
As we passed by the visitor centre there were several signs etched in granite and reading them put a huge lump in my throat.
OUR DEBT TO THE HEROIC MEN AND VALIANT WOMEN IN THE SERVICE OF OUR COUNTRY CAN NEVER BE REPAID. THEY HAVE EARNED OUR UNDYING GRATITUDE. AMERICA WILL NEVER FORGET THEIR SACRIFICES.
PRESIDENT HARRY S TRUMAN
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA You have to wonder what anguish a President would feel when making the decision to join a war in which the loss of so many countrymen would be inevitable, and yet the alternative worse, to stand by and do nothing.
IN 1923 CONGRESS CREATED THE AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION TO COMMEMORATE THE SERVICE, ACHIEVEMENTS AND SACRIFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES WHERE THEY HAVE SERVED SINCE 1917. THE COMMISSIONS MILIARY CEMETARIES AND MEMORIALS AROUND THE WORLD HONOR THE SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN, LIVING AND DEAD, AND FULFIL THE PROMISE THAT TIME WILL NOT DIM THE GLORY OF THEIR DEEDS.
We did not have a lot of time unfortunately (our scheduled was dictated by the bus), so we passed by the visitor centre and walked down to Omaha Beach. Looking out at the water where the soldiers had come up was hard hitting. It reality it is just a beach - at least from the American Cemetery, from the top there are no obvious signs of the bloodshed and battles that took place here. The sand is yellow, the embankment leading down to the beach covered in lawn and trees. It was raining softly and the sky was a little overcast.
But the atmosphere is so subdued and silent, that you can’t help but gaze out and imagine the hundreds of Americans storming up the beach, being shot down and laying there, dying, as they fought to advance. Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan bought it all to mind and as we looked over the water the imagery was very vivid. Such a waste of life in such a brutal way.
About 100 metres along
the beach was a stone lookout and a map showing where the beaches along the Normandy coast were invaded. We stood overlooking the beach for quite a while.
Leading up from the beach, up a set of stairs flanked by tall conifer trees, was the memorial.
1941-1945
IN PROUD REMEMBRANCE OF ACHIEVEMENTS OF HER SONS
AND IN HUMBLE TRIBUTE TO THEIR SACRIFICES
THIS MEMORIAL HAS BEEN ERECTED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA The memorial itself is a huge arc of marble pillars. On either side are maps which have been engraved into the stone. One showing the landings by the Allies along the Normandy beaches, where each Corps where stationed, the positions of the Canadians, British and Germans, and where the planes, submarines and boats came in. The other showing the military operations in Western Europe.
In the centre stands a beautifully wrought statue of a man, appearing to rise from the waves, his hands outstretched towards the sky. Around the base of the statue were many wreaths. One of them read Boy Scouts of America. We salute our fallen hero’s. Alongside the memorial is a reflecting pond of water lined with hundreds more wreaths.
At the back is a Tablet of the Missing. I defy anyone to stand there in this memorial and read these and not fight back tears - it is an intensely emotional place. It took some time before I could even start to explain to Reagan what this place symbolised.
As you walk out of the memorial, the graves of the soldiers seem to stretch endlessly through the gardens. Row after row, after row, of white. There are over 9,000 men and women buried here, each grave marked with either a white marble cross, or for the Jewish-Americans, a Star of David. Most of them have the name, rank, platoon, home town and date of who lay there etched into the marble.
JOHN A INMAN
PVT 22 INF 4 DIV
KANSAS JUNE 12 1944 One of them simply had the words “Here rests in honoured glory, a Comrade in Arms, known but to God”. That was the saddest grave, thinking of the unidentified soldier who lay there and his family back home never knowing where or how he died, or where he was buried. Or maybe that he died alone, with no family back home to care
and wonder. So very sad.
As you walk down the centre of the cemetery, you come across a tall circular stone chapel. Above the door a replica of the Congressional Medal of Honor has been set into the stone. Inside are the American, Canadian, British and French flags and several plaques. On the ceiling is an absolutely stunning mural. And on the outside you can see these words running around the top:
THESE ENDURED ALL AND GAVE ALL THAT JUSTICE AMONG NATIONS MIGHT PREVAIL AND THAT MANKIND MIGHT ENJOY FREEDOM AND INHERIT PEACE It was a beautiful cemetery and very thought provoking. When Reagan and I left we talked about World War I and II, and war in general, which lead to discussions about terrorism, Ground Zero in New York and the Bali bombings and she had lots of questions. She is only 8 but she was very interested and moved by what we talked about and what she saw and I am so glad I have bought her here. We will go to Dachau next in Germany, followed by The Somme in late June, where she will see the Australian cemeteries. She will remember these places
when she eventually covers these subjects in school in the years ahead and hopefully it will have a greater meaning and give her a better understanding for her having seen and felt these places.
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