Day Six - Boxing Day Stinks for the Lunds

And Just a Wee Bit Futher Up the Road...

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Since we once lived in Gettysburg for a short time, we had to get a picture in our one-time sister city.

Band of Brothers

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Once again we were running ahead of schedule. I expected to spend more time in St. Mere Eglise but with all the stores closed we found ourselves with extra time. I decided to squeeze in Utah Beach. The Airborne troops were dropped into St. Mere Eglise to secure the roads and bridges for the main force landing at Utah. It was only a few miles away so we headed eastward to another beach. In the middle of yet another wide open farm field we chanced upon this statue depicting Lt. Richard Winters of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st AIrborne Division. It was erected on June 6 of this year and dedicated to all those eho led the way on D-Day.

Army Mules

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It was kind of ironic that just a few feet away from the statue dedicated to army heroes we spotted these two candidates for West Point. They'd be ideal mascots for the Army-Navy game.

The Somewhat Unknown Heroes

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The plaque under the statue says: "In Memory of the 800 Danish seamen who participated in the Normandy Landings June 1944." That's a pretty significant number for a tiny country that was invaded and totally conquered by the Nazis in one day. I assume their ranks were made up of sailors who were out at sea the time their country was invaded.

The Melancholy Dane

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Not too far from the Dick Winters statue we drove up to this somewhat unusual looking monument. At first I thought it had something to do with a famous local poet. When I got out of the car I learned that this was a representation of a Danish sailor.

Norman Flooding

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The constant rain we had been having resulted in many of the fields looking like this, but during the invasion in 1944 most of the fields were even more deeply underwater. To discourage Allied invaders the Germans knocked down dikes and dams in the area in order to flood the area. Allied intelligence was not aware of how extensive the flooding was and as a result many of the men parachuting into France were drowned when dropped in the dead of night. Although the Americans landing at Utah got off the beach fairly quickly and with much fewer casualties than at Omaha, once the soldiers tried to head inland and cross the peninsula on their way to Cherbourg, they were stymied by the water. They had to stick to the roads that were above the water level thus making them easy targets for the Germans.

Arrival at Utah Beach

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There was plenty of parking (and cars) at Utah Beach even this late in the day. The landings at Utah went smoothly compared to Omaha Beach because of a number of factors: unlike Omaha the DD tanks were debarked from their ships much closer to shore and almost all made it to the beach where they poured fire on the few Germans in the area; aerial and naval bombardment of the area was much more successful here; despite their heavy losses the Airborne troops behind the German fortifications cause enough havoc and confusion to draw off reinforcements; and most significantly, because of the racing tide the landing craft missed their planned sites and instead landed most of the men in the same spot which was directly in front of a gap in the dunes which was wide enough to allow the Americans to wuickly get off the beach itself.

Hard to Picture This Area in 1944

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Unlike the other D-Day sites, this area was rather devoid of old fortifications and bunkers. Then again, this was also the least defended of the invasion beaches. Instead, the Germans counted on the flooded fields behind the beach to slow the attackers.

More Bad Weather Headed Our Way

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Since it hadn't rained in fifteen minutes we were well overdue. Off in the distance that black cloud that had been following us from the minute we landed in Paris was about to make a return appearance.

Tope Secret German Bunker?

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On our walk along the windswept sand dunes we were fortunate enough to bump into this long forgotten Wellenbrecher-Loch underground installation -better known as a "Mole's burrow" in English.

Beach Barbed Wire

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I don't know if this is fact or fiction, but I convinced myself that these coils of barbed wire are remnants from WWII.

Low Tide on Utah Beach

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I can't imagine people actually lying out on this beach just because the water is always so cold, but if those crazy Europeans swim in the Baltic I suppose this might seem warm in comparison. Plenty of room for beach chairs and the surf at high tide seemed strong enough for surfing.

The Fool on the Hill

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The wind on the dunes was rather nasty and I almost lost yet another chapeau on this vacation, but Grandma scurrying behind me retrieved it before it could blow off back to Ireland.

Rommel's Asparagus

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While Cassie and Gail returned to the car, Grandma and I kept walking around checking for more artifacts fom the invasion. Outside the Utah Beach Landing Museum we saw these obstacles that the Germans under Field Marshall Erwin Rommel laid along all the beach approaches in Normandy. The Germans deployed around one million of these over-sized steel jacks to deter tanks and landing craft. In fact, many of the invaders took shelter behind them as they worked their way up the beaches.

Naval Monument

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As a light rain began to fall (again) Grandma Phoebe and I took some time to check out the monuments and statues outside the museum. This one is in memory of the officers and sailors of the US Navy. On the other sides of the statue's base all the naval vessels participating are listed, including the smallest landing crafts.

Interesting Depiction of the Battle

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That navy monument wasn't exactly going for realism with these three hugging each other atop a pile of ammunition, but it does evoke the feeling of massive power and resolve amid harrowing circumstances.

German Anti-tank Gun Guarding Utah Beach

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The 5 cm KwK 39 L/60 (5 cm Kampfwagenkanone 39 L/60) was a German 50 mm caliber gun that was normally mounted on German tanks, but could also be used as a stand alone weapon.

Honoring the 1st Engineer Special Brigade

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Apparently this unit was kind of an army and navy joint operation. These fellows were responsible for getting the troops from the ships to the shore in the Higgins boats, or landing craft. Prior to Normandy this brigade performed the same task in North Africa and Sicily. After D-Day, they were transferred to the Pacific and participated in the Okinawa invasion. Definitely not a unit I'd want to be part of.