Sometimes your travels will take you to historical places that are emotional and uncomfortable but are necessary to give you an understanding of bravery and selfless sacrifice. For me, it was a visit to Normandy, France.
Sometimes your travels will take you to historical places that are emotional and uncomfortable but are necessary to give you an understanding of bravery and selfless sacrifice. For me, it was a visit to Normandy, France.
Before my first visit to France, I knew Normandy would be a must see. I knew these were the beaches where 150,000 allied troops stormed the beaches and that their success was critical to the future of the free world. But HOW can you really RELATE to this concept? My visit to Normandy and actually being there gave me a better understanding of D-Day and the sacrifice and significance of what those men did for the world.
Normandy is about two hours outside of Paris and there are a few tour companies that offer day trips. Some include a visit to Mt Saint Michael (which I do recommend seeing eventually) but I do NOT recommend seeing the same day. There are just too many things to see at both places. Give both places a FULL day.
Before I went people had warned me to prepare myself emotionally and mentally, which I’m glad they told me. I had no idea what was about to come.
On the ride there from Paris our guide said, “Today we are going to retrace steps of the brave men who took part in the largest military operation in the history of the world.” Wow, just that statement haunted me and set the tone for the trip I was about to embark.
Our first stop was the German battery at Longues-sur-Mer located halfway between Omaha and Gold Beach that was built to give German commanders a perfect view of the Atlantic. Four of the German guns that were used on D-Day still stand in place.
Next stop was Pointe du Hoc where we got to see how the American Army Rangers had to climb the famous (very steep) 100 foot cliff while under enemy gunfire! Still to this day, I can’t even imagine how they accomplished this. The picture of us in the bomb crater shows the magnitude of gunfire going on while this was happening.
Third stop was a visit to the very interesting and informative Overlord Museum. The tour started with an overview of events from WWI through 1944 (most interesting to me were the actual letters from leaders and troops to family). Further on was a huge collection of actual articles used during the war – everything from vehicles, tanks, guns, etc. This visit helped me to better understand the actual events leading up to WWII itself.
Next up was Omaha Beach and I was speechless – I was actually walking the sands (that were extremely peaceful and calm that day) where 2,500 died in a matter of just a few hours. The Americans landed on this beach, which was the most difficult to storm because of the hills. It was also very eerie going inside one of the bunkers that still housed a huge gun from that day pointed at England.
Our final stop was the American Cemetery and Memorial. Words can’t describe the emotions I felt viewing the rows upon rows of white crosses (10,000). It is here where over 9,000 are buried including Medal of Honor heroes, the Nildan brothers (Saving Private Ryan) and the names of 1,557 missing. At 4:00 pm the flags were lowered while Taps was played. I had been holding in my emotions all day (people had warned me, remember?) and I just couldn’t control it anymore – the tears came rolling down my face uncontrollably. I looked around and noticed I wasn’t the only one.
This day was not easy but it was memorable and one of the most significant days of all my travels. I left that evening with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. I will forever remember the impact that day had on, not only the course of history, but the course of the world.
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