May 25, 2015
Memorial Day
What a perfect, appropriate place to be....... the beaches of Normandy.
The ENTIRE area at Pointe du Hoc is COVERED with massive craters leftover from the incessant bombing in June of 1944.
The names of the U.S. Rangers killed here
The original barbed wire is still present.
You can go down into these bunkers and just picture the Germans from their fortified positions shooting at the troops as they approached.
As we all now know, the Allied forces sustained heavy losses. Nearly 30,000 Americans alone were killed in just a matter of days. Such courage. Such bravery. Such sacrifice.
But it was not in vain. France was liberated. Freedom prevailed. And the end of World War II had begun.
Operation Overlord was the largest military operation in history with more than 5,000 ships and landing craft, 50,000 vehicles and 11,000 planes set to land on the beaches of Normandy, taking the Nazis by surprise.
The monument at Colleville-sur-Mer's American Cemetery, located on a cliff above Omaha Beach.
9,386 American soldiers are buried here.
Hallowed ground.
Omaha Beach
A small chapel lies at the far end of the cemetery.
VERDICT: YES! This was such a moving experience. I was there on Memorial Day and I am writing this blog post on June 6th, the 71st Anniversay of D-Day. The cemetery is beautiful. So well done. Peaceful. Serene. Hallowed. The museum is very well done. Absolutely worth going inside (and free) before walking among the nearly 10,000 graves. When you think about what these men did, how they did it and why they did it and look around picturing all of that happening right where you are standing, it is something that absolutely all freedom-loving people should experience.
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