D-Day experience

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Today was my Normandy tour day. On my way to rendezvous with the tour group, I went by Bayeux Cathedral. The only reason I mention it is because on the streets along the building were the flags of the western WWII Allied Forces - the United States, Great Britain, France and Canada. It was the first I saw our flag over here. I proudly smiled.

Our first stop on the tour was the German battery at Longues sur Mer. This battery includes a well-preserved set of guns, casemates and range-finding posts and is the only one in the region to have kept its guns. There were four 150-mm guns in the area, each with heavily concreted protective barriers called casemates surrounding them. They sat around 200 feet above sea level so the views and their range were vast - an impressive 17 miles (the edge of the horizon).

Next, we went to Omaha Beach. Omaha is the second (West to East) of the five Normandy beaches used on D-Day (Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword). The beaches span more than 30 miles along the Normandy coast - Omaha accounts for five miles.

When we first arrived, I was amazed at the great distance (maybe 150 yards to the surf) between the ocean and the start of the hill (at times it can be as much as 300 yards difference). I also noticed that at high tide, the water almost reached the foot of the hill. In fact, the tides on Omaha played a major role in the battle planning for Operation Overlord (the code name given to the D-Day invasion). The landing had to be done at flooding mid-tide so that German water defenses, such as water mines and hedge hogs, could be avoided but would allow enough time for follow up landings.

This certainly held true. It seemed like the tide came 30 yards closer while we were there.

I went down to the water’s edge and stuck my hand in. It was apparently about 70°. It actually felt warmer than this. It was probably much cooler in June. I wondered if any of the soldiers even noticed or cared.

We went to the nearby American Cemetery at Colleville, which overlooks Omaha Beach. The first thing I noticed when we got there was the sheer number of graves. There are 9,387 gravesites across its 172 acres. I think the guide said that only accounts for about 40%!o(MISSING)f the Allied WWII KIA in Normandy (before and after D-Day).

The sites are arranged so that each marker serves as a corner for four different squares (less around the perimeter). This makes for perfect parallel, perpendicular and diagonal alignment. This careful attention to detail, the sheer brightness of the white crosses and stars of David, the manicured green lawns and the occasional bed of flowers make for an impressive and peaceful site for those whose final resting place it is.

After walking around some of the gravesites, I made my way back towards the memorial. On my walk back, the clock struck 11 and a solemn ringing of bells took place. Once the 11th strike of the bell took place, My Country ‘Tis of Thee and America the Beautiful were played.

Next, we made a brief stop at the National Guard monument to see where the 30 Bedford Boys from the small town of Bedford, Virginia fought. After this, we went to Ponte du Hoc.

Ponte du Hoc is a point that protrudes into the English Channel, giving strategic viewing and battery capabilities to the Germans. It is the site where the 2nd Rangers Battalion scaled the 100 foot cliffs to take out the German battery. And, it is the one remaining place where, other than cleaning up debris, the landscape has not been altered since the war.

Since Pointe du Hoc was such a strategic point from both sides’ perspectives, heavy Allied bombing took place there. The size of some of the bomb craters is incredible. I’d estimate that many are 15-20 feet deep and 25-30 feet wide. One of the most impressive ones is from the demolition of the German’s artillery house. TNT was used to explode the live munitions that were stored in a structure with walls of concrete that were several feet deep. Upon explosion, the roof was propelled about 30 feet away.

Around lunchtime, we went to St Mere-Eglise. This town was one of the first rendevous points for beach and airborne troops. In the heart of the town is a church where Pvt John Steele of the 82nd Airborne became tangled by his chute on the church’s steeple when trying to land. He was suspended there and played dead for several hours until the Germans left.

While we were there, I grabbed a quick bite at a small pizza and sandwich shop. I ordered a pizza, not really knowing what was on it, and what I thought was a small bottle of red wine, which was placed cork-less in the display next to rosé wine. The girl working the counter placed a big bottle on top and apparently said in French that they only had large. When I finally figured that out, I agreed to the large bottle. Then I noticed it had a cork like champagne. I asked if it was vin rogue (besides merci, my best French phrase) and she said no. I immediately audibled to the rosé. I had to specially request them to open it. Maybe people just carry bottle openers around with them everywhere? I also didn’t get a glass or cup so I slugged it straight from the bottle.

The pizza came out with tomato sauce, olives, some sort of shellfish (maybe crab?), mozzarella and ricotta. I sat down with it and it was uncut. At this point I just went sloppy American style and ripped it apart to eat it. So their impression of me quickly became messy eater who slugs from the bottle. I’m proud to be an American.

After lunch, I went into the Airborne museum up the street. It’s dedicated to the US 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions which invaded with paratroopers and paragliders. The museum was interesting, although the ones I had seen earlier this year in Fayetteville and New Orleans were much more impressive.

After lunch, we started hitting up a few sites that were depicted in the Band of Brothers series. First, we went to the site where Easy company’s CO before Lt Winters, Lt Thomas Meehan’s, plane crashed after being shot down by the Germans. There is a monument that marks the spot.

From there we went to Drop Zone D, where the 501st landed. The landing is recreated frequently.

Next we went to the field where the four German cannon batteries with 105-mm guns were holding American forces at bay on Utah Beach. This is where Lt. Winters systematically took out all of these guns.

Also in the area, and throughout the region, were the infamous hedge rows that wreaked havoc for our troops.

At the end of the tour, we did a quick drive through Carentan and saw the spot where the building once stood which had its roof blown off in the background while one soldier carried another away to safety.

At this point, we stopped at Utah Beach to get a different beach invasion perspective. Utah had much less of a slope and much less German defense than Omaha, providing the American forces a much easier landing.

Our final stop was at Angoville au Plain Church. The church was built in the 11th century. In WWII, it was used as an Allied hospital, housing both Allied and German troops who were wounded. Inside, some of the pews were still blood stained from their use as beds.

The day’s events were certainly harrowing. While not a lot remains of the actual sites besides memorials and some preserved artillery, reading about the invasion and seeing movies/documentaries about it just doesn’t do much of it justice. I needed to see it in person to really grasp the magnitude.

I caught the train back to Paris tonight. I do more touring there tomorrow.

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Photos

German battery at Longues sur Mer
A fully intact 150-mm German gun and its casemate at Longues sur Mer.

Omaha Beach
Omaha Beach's steep hills.

American Cemetary
Cross and Star of David grave markers line this peaceful final resting place.

Pointe du Hoc
Craters remain from the heavy air-to-surface bombing leading up to D-Day.

Church in St. Mere-Eglise
A replica paratroper hangs from the church steeple where PVT John Steele became entangled.

Our flag
An American flag waves above Drop Zone D.