We get our wake-up call at 6:30 a. m. I am a bit disoriented and then remember, "Yes, DK, you are not in Mississippi anymore." A peek out the window shows the day to be cloudy, misty, and cold. So, we dress for the weather and head to breakfast. Our choice is warm croissants, hard rolls, ham, bacon, something that looks like grits but can't be, fruit, juices, and coffee. We fill ourselves for the long day, and then load onto the bus for our drive to Arromanches.
We ride for about 45 minutes through the Normandy countryside. The area is hilly and the primary crops are apples, canola, grapes, along with cattle. The morning stays overcast with a misty rain, and the wind picks up the closer we get to the beach.
Normandy countryside--fields being prepared to plant
More Normandy countryside
We arrive at the museum at Mulberry Harbor on Gold Beach and take pictures and browse through some of the shops before we are to visit to the museum. At the museum we learn about what we have taken pictures of.
Museum at Mullberry Harbor
FYI: During the attack on Normandy there were four beaches that were to be taken along the Atlantic Wall that was created by the German Army. The wall was made of concret defenses, some known as pill boxes, that housed large guns used for assult on incoming ships and troops from the English Channel to the North Sea. The Normandy operation was known as Operation Overlord. The D-Day invasion began with British and American paratroopers dropping inland under the cover of night, and then the assault on the beaches began at 6:30 a.m. or I should say 7:30 am since there was a huge storm that delayed the invasion. The beaches assaulted were Utah and Ohmaha (US), Gold and Sword (England), and Juno (Canada). If you have seen The Longest Day or Saving Private Ryan you know how bloody and fatal the assault was on the beaches. But as history has recorded, the Allies succeded with a great loss of life, and France paid a terrible toll in destruction of the towns in the Normady provience.One of the most interesting parts of the invasion was the building of a temporary harbor at Arromanches called Mullbery Harbor and nicknamed "Port Winston" after Winston Churchill. We had the opportunity to listen to a presentation on the building of the harbor and it workings. It is absolutely amazing what the ingenuity of nations combined for a single purpose could achieve. The harbor was amazing and remnants still remain of the Allies' accomplishment. Our guide is very knowledgable and ends her presentation with touching words acknowledging the sacrifice of the allies.
Inside the museum--pictures of those in command of the Normandy invasion
Our group looking at part of the diorama of the floating harbor
"The various parts of the Mulberry harbours were made around Britain in the greatest of secrecy. The many various parts were moved to Normandy immediately after June 6th – D-Day. By June 18th, both harbours were in use. They were meant to stay in use until the capture of Chebourg in the north of the Cotentin Peninsula. However, a violent storm begun on June 19th. By June 22nd, the harbour serving the Americans at Omaha had been wrecked. Parts of it were salvaged to repair the British harbour at Gold which worked for 10 months. In that time this harbour landed 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles and 4 million tons of goods" ("Mullbery Harbor." Ask.com). Class dismissed!
Jeffery and me with part of the harbor in the background. Notice in the distance part of the remaining concrete caissons that set the boundry of the floating harbor.
Debbie and Natalie--Can you say "Cold!"? Notice there are more of the remnants of the caissons in the back.
We finish our tour of the museum on our own and then head back to the bus. We travel to The Memorial, the museum that commmorates the take over of France by the Germans and the Normandy invasion. We tour the museum and catch a quick lunch. We meet our guide Lisa (more on her later).
Mary Ruth standing outside The Memorial
We gather at the bus and ride to Longues sur Mer where we visit several sites of the German pill boxes, some of which still hold rusted guns that shot at the ships and men as they invaded the beaches. These defensive measures made up part of the Atlantic Wall.
Dresses made from remnants of the troops' parachutes from the night of the landing
Remains of one of the Greman pill boxes
Pill box with gun
Communication bunker at the edge of the cliff overlooking the beach at Longues sur Mer. View from the pill box
Close up view of the communication bunker. There is a scene in The Longest Day in which a German soldier communicates to the gunners in a pillbox the coordinates of incoming ships from a bunker like this.
Our next stop is at the American Cemetery where many of the thousands who did not survive the Normandy invasion are buried. We first walk through the garden area that leads to the monument that has the statue of Youth Rising flanked by two olive trees. As we look out from the monument, our eyes are directed down a long path flanked by graves that lead to the chapel at the other end. Gravesites with Christian crosses and stars of David are as far as the eye can see. We have a chance to visit the graves of President Teddy Roosevelt's two sons, along with the graves of the Niland brothers, upon whom the story of Saving Private Ryan is based. Our visit to the cemetery is a very humbling experience and is one I wish every American could have a chance to make.
Entrance to the American Cemetery
Statue of Youth Rising flanked by two olive trees
Some of the gardens throughout the cemetery
Chapel ceiling
Chapel window
Grave sites
We then load up again to ride to Pointe du Hoc, a promontory that rises 100 feet over a small patch of beach and where the Germans had a major artillery battery. This spot was the scene where the 2nd Ranger Batallion scaled the steep cliffs and took the battery and held it for two days until reinforcements arrived. They started with 225 rangers; only 90 were capable of fighting since the others were wounded and unable to fight; 80 lost their lives.
Time capsule to be opened on the 100th anniversary of the invasion June 6, 2044
Next, we load up again to travel to Omaha beach to the sight of the landing where so many lives where lost. Another name for the beach is Bloody Omaha.
Full-size view of the monument directly on the beach
Some of our travelers wandering the beach and taking time for a photo opt
Crater holes left from incoming bombs from invading ships. It was decided to leave the craters as part of the Pointe du Hoc site instead of filling them and restoring the landscape.
Debbie and Elyette climbing out of one of the craters
Preservation work being done at Pointe du Hoc
Wildflowers at Pointe du Hoc
Even though the day has been one of emotion, it ends on a funny note with Mary Nelson. Many of the houses in theNormandy area are rather small, and Mary Nelson asks our guide why they are so small. He responds that there is a group of Normandy midgets who live in the area and they live in these small homes. And, Mary Nelson believed him, for a few minutes at least. We all have a good laugh to take off the somberness of the day.
We travel back to Caen and and later gather for dinner which is a bit "iffy." We have salad and some kind of spam-like meat. Not many us venture a taste. Then our main course arrives, and we decide that we might should haven eaten the spam. We have veal that doesn't look like any veal we have ever eaten. Not many at our table venture to taste it, much less eat it. Dessert is a choclate torte and spiced ice cream; one out of three isn't bad. Several of us gather in the bar for a drink, and then we head to our rooms to get ready to travel to Bayeux, Mont Saint Michel, and on to Paris. I also make a promise to watch The Longest Day, Saving Private Ryan, and Band of Brothers once again.
