The Normandy Invasion - part 1

There is almost too much to remember from the last 2 days. First, to get it out of the way, the weather yesterday was quite foggy all day, so many of the iconic views were hidden. I'll have to get over my disappointment about the pictures. Today was much clearer as we visited Gold Beach.

The sign below is Thomas' way of reminding us of our itinerary. He draws and posts one each evening. 

On our way to pick up our specialist guide, Thomas read us a minute by minute account of what happened at various locations the morning of June 6, 1944 to help prepare us for all we would see. I had already woken quite early thinking about how the quiet contrasted with how noisy and terrible it would have been in Caen (where we are staying) as the bombs rained down. 

Our first stop was Omaha Beach. As noted above, it was too foggy to picture the scene at the time, especially since it was also high tide. The invasion had begun at low tide. However, we did get a sense of how rough the seas were.  I can understand why the soldiers got seasick.

One lovely part of being there, though, was that there was a ceremony taking place to honor the American troops. There were regional dignitaries and local school children as well as current US soldiers. Most importantly,  there were some veterans of the invasion. I thought the most moving part was when the school children gave each veteran a flower. 

We have come across similar events in many locations both days. There are also flags from all the countries that participated in the liberation flying all over. It's nice to see the appreciation for the courageous men who took on the Germans.

Our next stop was at the American cemetary. As you can imagine, that was very moving. Again, there were veterans there walking among the stones. There were also some family groups that huddled around markers for pictures. The cemetary is for all the Americans killed in the various battles which liberated Normandy, not just the initial landing. Instead of having small cemeteries all over the region, it was decided to have just one. So once the war was over, bodies were dug up and families given the option of burying them here or back home. About 60% of the men were reburied at home. A related story: this morning we met a Native American who was here to see his brother's grave for the first time. He was very young when his brother died. His children brought him to finally see where his brother died.