One of the things I liked about Caen is the giant medieval fortress right at the dead center of town…
We got to our hotel and had a nice meal at its restaurant. A little more expensive, but relative to Paris it was a good price.
The next morning we got up early and made our way to the Caen Memorial Museum to D-Day. We were actually only five minutes away. The Memorial Museum took a lot of time to recognize everybody who participated in the landings. The U.S. role in the invasion is not marginalized, but with limited space available I was always left with a feeling that they were rushing through the parts where the U.S. contribution was particularly important. You’ll see this theme throughout the rest of my photos of the museum portion of our journey.
Here is everybody who participated…
A huge portion of the museum was dedicated to the war and everything else that happened before and after the Battle of Normandy. Most of my pictures didn’t come out all too well because the lighting was designed for atmosphere, not to be conducive to photos. The war in the Pacific was mentioned in a couple of rooms, but the museum understandably focused on Europe.
I was alright with most of the presentation. This pissed me off though…
Basically the museum went out of its way to sideline what happened to the Roma people. I was very disappointed with the French.
Enough of that. The museum had a separate exhibition for the Battle of Normandy that went through the landing to the closing of the Falais Pocket in detail…
It was…okay. They tried to make it look like everybody was advancing at the same pace and everybody was getting bogged down. They never mentioned that it was the Americans who broke out of the bocage and raced around the Germans, and it was Monty who couldn’t advance across flat ground in time to trap the German armies. Oh well.
After spending the morning inside, we took one of the museum’s minvan tours out to the beaches and a few other sights.
Our first stop was Arromanches, the prefab harbor that the allies dropped in the water to form a port. Most of it was cleared away, but you can still see the giant cement blocks they used…
That picture was looking down on Gold Beach and you can see how short the run from the beach to the town would be for the British who landed here. That is the reason why the British, relatively speaking, didn’t suffer many casualties during the initial landings. It was the Americans at Omaha Beach and the Canadians at Juno who really took the kick to the teeth.
Next we went and saw a German battery at Lonques-sur-Mer. It was manned by older soldiers and conscripted Poles, so only one allied soldier was killed taking this battery. It helped that the counter battery fire hit some of the guns right on…
I couldn’t resist the standard tourist shots of the guns
We then traveled to the American Cemetery above Normandy Beach. You knows immediately that you are on hallowed ground. The gardens surrounding the cemetery create a sense of peace and prepare you for the actual entrance to the place where so many you died rest peacefully.
I will not say more about this site, I can’t. I simply do not have the words to impart the feelings you have as you walk through the cemetery. I will say this. To all those who are buried at Normandy and in graves marked and unmarked all around the world: thank you for what you did and sacrificed for my freedom. To all those men and women who served in World War II, especially my Grandpa Dial: thank you for serving and risking everything for that same cause. Though your sacrifices, physical and spiritual, are not always appreciated by all, take heart that there are those of us in the younger generation who will not allow the world to forget nor allow it to ignore the history that you lived. Thank You.
A final thank you is in order before I lead you further along my travels for this day. This thank you is to the people of France. Thank you for gifting us this ground. The young men of America were prepped for war by our nation, they came by sea and air to aid the cause of freedom, and far too many were embraced by France in death. Thank you for giving them a permanent resting place.
Our next stop was Normandy Beach itself…
As you can see there are a number of people utilizing the beach as they would any other: swimming, tanning, and having fun. I am still not sure how I feel about that. There is the part of me that is angry and says that this beach is sacred ground and should not be used such; that is the part that could never do it even if others could. Then there is the part that is happy that people have the freedom to do it in their own country, instead of under tyrannical rule. I’ll leave you to your own thoughts.
Here is a view of the forbidding heights above the beach…
Our next and final destination was the Pointe du Hoc, the sight of a famous US Army Ranger action. You know it was a serious target almost immediately because there are large craters from shells and bombing…
There are a lot of them…
The Pointe du Hoc was probably one of the most heavily defended batteries on the entire Normandy beach. From this position the Germans would be able to use rotating guns to fire on both Utah and Omaha beaches. For a target of such importance, the Allied command selected the Army Rangers to take it out of commission. How? By scaling this cliff under fire…
Problem was that the Rangers were sent off course by the rough seas and their transport vessel had to work its way along Omaha beach until they reached Pointe du Hoc. So the Germans knew they were coming. Nevertheless, the Rangers fought their way to the top only to find this…
The turret foundation sits as empty today as it did then. The Germans had relocated the guns to another battery. The Rangers eventually did find the guns, but after fending off the counterattacks, only 90 of the 225 man landing party were still in fighting condition.
That concluded our tour. The van took us right back to the train station and we just caught a train to Paris. It was a personally moving experience for me. This day was a as much a pilgrimage for me as my trip to the holy land.
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