Written by: TravelingProfessor
Thursday, October 27, 2011 

Sixty-seven years after D-Day, eight of us visited the beaches and the American Cemetery in France after spending a week in Paris.  The 2 ½ hour train ride to the well-preserved Norman town of Bayeux, France chugs out of the grit of the city and quickly picks up speed as we breeze through the green pastures of the countryside.

On June 6, 1944, General Dwight D. Eisenhower directed “Operation Overlord”, the largest amphibious invasion ever undertaken.   Over 150,000 Allied forces arrived aboard 5,000 ships along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified “Atlantic Wall” in Normandy, France.     Over 9,000 soldiers and sailors were killed or wounded – most in the first hours of the invasion.   The brave allied forces overcame obstacles in the water and on the beach.  Unprotected, they faced enemy fire to cross the sand, taking massive and gruesome casualties along the way.    But by the end of the day, they took the high ground and began the liberation march across Europe.

Bayeaux: Hotel Reine Mathilde
Our headquarters is the Hotel Reine Mathilde  It is a cute, 2-star hotel located in the center of town adjacent to the Place du Quebec in Bayeux.  I like it because it is immaculately clean, inexpensive (about 75 euros) and the courteous, English-speaking staff can do it all – manage the reception desk, pour a beer, serve a pot of mussels, and help plan a tour.  The other two viable lodging options in Bayeux are the Churchill Hotel and the historic Lion d’Or.   They are only slightly more expensive and somewhat more comfortable.

The first time I visited the Normandy Invasion Beaches 10 years ago, I did a self-guided tour with a rental car.   This time we have arranged for Overlord Tours to conduct their “Omaha/Utah Full Day Tour”.  There are 16 scheduled stops on the tour.   Frankly, one could spend several days exploring the battle sites and the American Cemetery, but this tour does a solid job in covering the highlights of the American involvement in the invasion in just one day.

Our tour is scheduled to begin at 8:20 a.m.   Our “Guide Officer” Sean, is waiting for us at about 8:10 a.m.   The comfortable, late model van that will take us on our mission today is emblazoned with the Overlord Tours logo and puts us in the mood for our D-Day adventure. 

While driving from Bayeux towards the beaches, Sean paints the picture of what it was like on D-Day.  He points out German artillery emplacements, check points, and hiding places of the French Resistance that would never have been noticed if I were doing a self-guided tour.   He shows us photographs, taken in 1944, and compares them to the scenes we witness today.

One of the first stops is Omaha Beach.  The fierce fighting that took place here is depicted in the opening battle scene of the film “Saving Private Ryan”.  I stand on the beach with the water of the English Channel licking at my heels.  I can see what the Allied invaders saw when they landed on the beach.  I look up to the cliffs where remains of concrete reinforced gun emplacements stare down at me.   There are pillboxes to the left, pillboxes to the right,  and pillboxes in front of me.   Sean expertly describes how the soldiers hit the shore that Tuesday morning in 1944 with vicious German crossfire raining down on them.  He explains how the now long-gone obstacles of steel, barbed wire, and mines buried in the sand were overcome by the brave soldiers to take the beach on D-Day.   The cost to do so was great - over 2,300 men were killed on this sand I stand on during the early hours of Operation Overlord. 

Colleville Sur-Mer
A short drive away is The American Cemetery in Colleville Sur-Mer.  Overlooking the sea are  9,387 graves on 172 acres of immaculately maintained grounds.   It is an emotional moment for me while I read the names of sailors and soldiers on the marble stone markers of crosses and Stars of David.

In May 2007, a $30 million visitor center opened on the grounds of the cemetery.   Using photos, film, interactive displays, and artifacts, the center enhances the visit to the cemetery while honoring the courage and sacrifice of the Allied forces.

It’s back in the van again to the seaside cliffs of Pointe du Hoc. You may recall President Ronald Reagan’s stirring speech there on the 40th anniversary of D-Day.   Sean again narrates how, hours prior to the invasion,  American naval guns pounded away at the thick concrete German gun emplacements that looked out to sea, barely scratching them.   To this day, the structures remain surrounded by deep bomb craters.    We have an opportunity to go inside and see what the enemy saw as 5,000 ships bore down on the Normandy coast.    

Further along the coast we stop at the strategic village of Sainte-Mère-Eglise, another site of brutal fighting.   Sean details the battle here, even to the point of showing us bullet holes in stone walls and metal fencing.  Here is the famous church where an American paratrooper was caught up on the church steeple, in the town center, by his parachute.

Sainte-Mère-Eglise Airborne Museum does an excellent job of not only telling the account of the 23,000 airborne troops who landed in Normandy on D-Day minus 1, but through film, artifacts, personal mementos, and exhibits, tells the entire D-Day story.   I was particularly impressed by the artifacts on display, including weapons, vehicles, uniforms, a Waco glider and an actual C-47 transport plane used in the invasion.

A trip to the Normandy Invasion Beaches and the American Cemetery is not one to be remembered for the cuisine or luxurious accommodations, but it is to remember the great sacrifices and to pay tribute to those who gave us the opportunity to experience the freedoms that we enjoy today.

Trackback Print

Tags:

Categories:

Location: Blogs The Traveling Professor's Blog