Day Five - Remembering June 6, 1944 on Christmas 2012

Gold Beach

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Just a little farther down the beach road we saw a parking lot decorated with French and British flags. We pulled in and spotted signs and markers indicating that this was where the main thrust of the British forces at Gold Beach landed. In landing here the British were fortunate enough to face the OST troops, Russian conscripts, that the Germans had forced into their army. These Russians were more than happy to surrender when given the chance. The British were able to capture Arromanches and move on to Bayeux by the end of the first day.

Let's Take a Look Around

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All of us got out and headed to the beach. We were not alone. A few locals had put on their jogging togs or brought their dogs for a Christmas morning tour of the beach.

Moving On To the Canadian Sector

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Just a few more miles up the road we came to Juno Beach, where the Canadians landed. Located right in the town of Courseulles-sur-mer, this beach was important due to the location on the River Seulles. The goal for the Canadians on that first day was to reach the important crossroads town of Caen and the airport at Carpiquet. In fact it took almost three months to capture those heavily defended objectives.

Now I Know We're in the Right Place

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In case there was any doubt that this was an Invasion site this artwork and a bevy of explanatory signs told us the story of the Canadians' first day in Normandy: Unlike the other beaches attacked that day, this beach was inundated with heavy rocks and obstacles in the sea that necessitated the Canadians waiting for high tide in order to send their landing crafts over the obstacles. Because of that delay and worsening weather, by the time they hit the beach, more than an hours after the other Allied landings, the Germans were well aware of their arrival. Nevertheless, the Canadians quickly overcame the German opposition, but were delayed in moving on toward their main objectives due to the worsening weather and the slow arrival of tanks and engineers to clear the beach obstacles.

The British and Canadian Troops Have Such Cool Names

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"The Queen's Own Rifles", "The Royal Commandos", "Nottinghamshire Yeomanry", "The French-Canadian Regiment de la Chaudiere", "Dorsetshire Regiment", "13th/18th Hussars", "Winnipeg Rifles" and " The Green Howards". These are so much more exciting than the numbered units on the American side. In fairness, "Screaming Eagles" "Hell on Wheels" and "The Big Red One" are also pretty nifty nicknames as well.

Inside a German Bunker

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Who knows what nonsense has gone on inside this dank smelly concrete building in the 60 years since it housed German soldiers. All I knew was that there was no way any part of my body was gonna touch the ground as I hunched down and explored. Somewhat surprisingly the only one who followed me inside was Grandma. She didn't have to hunch over.

Is This What the Shore is Supposed to Look Like?

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I don't think I've ever seen a shoreline that looked more "natural" than those we saw in Normandy. It seemed to be as much grass as it was sand. While there were some modern homes and summer dwellings further down the road, there was none of the over-delelopement you see here all along the East Coast.

Easy to See Why They Chose This Beach

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Juno Beach, at least this section of it, was a very flat surface compared to all the other Normandy beaches we had driven by. It was fine sand from the waterline then turned to loose gravel nearer the dunes. Here the Germans didn't have the same excellent line of fire from their positions down to the water as they enjoyed elsewhere. Beyond the dunes however, a canal and the river acted like a moat for the defenders.

We Are Not Alone

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I was a little surprised to see as many people out and about today as we did. Europeans really seem to enjoy nice weather and we often saw them taking walks as a family even on holidays. I guess if our TV was as boring as theirs, I'd be taking walks all the time too.

German Artillery Emplacement

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Not much to see here other than part of the wall of what was once some sort of anti-tank gun shelter.

Another View of the Gun Emplacement on Juno

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I suppose it's totally illegal to do so, but I'd still love to use a metal detector around thse old ruins. There's got to be tons of spent bullets, cartridges, gun parts, buttons, buckles, etc. still lieing around. I had expected to see shops selling genuine Battle memorabilia all along the invasion area, but the few places that seemed to deal in artifacts were closed for the season.

Memorial to My Least Favorite Frenchman Ever

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This big Cross of Loraine marks where General Charles de Gaulle "triumphantly" landed back in France (a week later). I never liked DeGaulle because he was always bad-mouthing America when I was a kid back in the Sixties. He acted like an emperor and was quick to try to horn in on the glory when he really did nothing to earn any of it. In my book, he was what gave France a bad name. Read his bio in Wikipedia and you too will depise the twit. What do you expect from a guy with the middle name of "Marie".

Back Behind the Dunes on Juno Beach

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Although the Canadians had some trouble getting off the heavily defended beaches they captured the town of Courseulles well before noon. They were able to advance 3 miles further inland by the end of the day, but were still well sure of their objective of reaching Caen.

I Can't Read Either Language on This Monument

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Since there were French and Polish flags nearby I assume the inscription is in French and Polish. And I think its a tribute to the 16,000 Polish troops under General Maczek (1st Division) who eventually landed by the end of June and helped liberate Normandy. I remember reading that Polish armor units were integral in the final liberation of Caen during the Battle of the Falaise Gap. The same 1st Division fought its way up from France, through Belgium, the Netherlands and on into Northern Germany. Many of those troops remained in Germany after the war rather than return to Soviet-controlled Poland.

This Tank Once Wore a Skirt

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This tank is a restored DD (Duplex Drive) model that was lost in the waves before ever reaching shore and combat. These "Donald Duck" tanks were normal tanks outfitted with inflatable skirts to enable them to "swim" to shore by means of a propeller in back. If I remember correctly, most of the crew drowned when this particular one sank. It was not brought up and restored until rather recently.

The First of Many of These Plinths We Would See

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I really appreciate the fact that the French had not chosen to forget all that had happened here. Each of the D-Day sites we visited had these stone monuments indicating that this was where it all happened. Additionally, many more individualized markers stood nearby dedicated to individual units denoting their heroic exploits of June 6, 1944.

More Props from the French

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I just learned that the French that settled in Canada back in the 17th and 18th Centuries were primarily from Normandy. It's interesting that they returned two centuries later to liberate their ancestors' homeland. Another bit of irony is that the British that participated in the D-Day invasion were often descendents of the Normans who had invaded England in 1066.

Enough of All This Solemnity

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Being the Lunds this day of paying respects to the gallant dead was not without its moments of insanity, aka ridiculousness. Because of that big breakfast and all the orange juice, coffee and hot chocolate we consumed, it was inevitable that after seeing all those waves crashing and water flowing our own personal waterworks would become stirred. Driving away from Courseulles Cassie declared a bathroom emergency. In our family that means everything else stops until the crisis is dealt with. We spotted these public restrooms in Bernieres-sur-Mer out on the main road and promptly pulled-off into the parking lot. Cassie ran for her life only to discover all of the WCs, men's included, were locked. Back in the car we drove toward the beach resort of Saint-Aubin looking for any kind of open business with a facility. When we passed by a condo undergoing renovations there was a green porto-potty for the workers. After doing a wide U-turn we drove into the condo complex and Cassie ran for relief. Eventually all of us used what had to be the cleanest and best smelling outside john we'd ever seen. It even had a sink with running water. Bon toilette.

The Fort Garry Horse Regiment

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After our potty stop we drove into downtown Bernieres-sur-Mer. In one small area we saw a wide variety of monuments and plaques. This one was laid in appreciation of the Canadian 10th Armoured Regiment. Note the poppy. The children in these beach towns still sing "O Canada" and "Rule Brittania" and also can name the Allied units that landed in their towns 8 decades ago.

Memorial to the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders

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There was absolutely nobody parked in the residential area where I decided to stop. I pulled up on a deserted macadam pathway overlooking the wide sand beach. No traffic anywhere, but shortly after we got out of the car and started to look around, an angry Frenchmen walked up to the car where Cassie remained alone inside and told her we had to move it. I suppose we were blocking his view out his huge picture window.