The Normandy Beaches
Today we finally experienced what, for me, was the defining day of this trip. We started with an early breakfast and were on the buses by 7:30am. It was a 2½ hour trip including what the tour guide described as a Shakespeare stop (that would be "to pee or not to pee").
As we neared Utah Beach, the mood became much more somber as Barbara, our guide, related many of the details of D-Day. I should take a moment to say that she took her position quite seriously for she had talked to many of the veterans that returned here over the years. Or she talked to officials, such as the mayor of St Mere Eglise, who had talked to many of the veterans on both sides of the conflict.
On June, 6, 1944, 23,350 American troops were involved with the operation at Utah Beach. They suffered around 900 casualties. The night before, 14,000 airborne troops, both by parachute on C-47s and in gliders towed by C-47s, landed behind the lines. They suffered an additional 2500 casualties.
One of the key objectives of the airborne landings and the landing troops on D+1 was the capture of the crossroads in the small town of Sainte-Mère-Église. The town was made famous in the movie "The Longest Day" when John Steele (a real life person), played in the movie by Red Buttons, had his parachute empaled on the church steeple. According to the movie, he played dead until he was rescued by American forces. However, in real life the "landing" knocked him unconscious and, when he was shot in the leg by a German, because he was unconscious he did not react, he was assumed to be dead. In the church tower were two Germans who, upon realizing that he was alive, decided to take him prisoner as insurance against capture. When the Germans realized that the town was being overrun, they decided that their best choice was to leave quickly without Steele who was left unconscious for the Americans to find later.
And how did Barbara know this to be be true story? She heard it from the Mayor of St. Mere Eglise who had heard it some years before from a returning veteran. No it wasn't John Steele but the German who had pulled him into the steeple.
Our next stop was Point du Hoc, a 110 foot promontory that lies between Utah and Omaha Beaches. It was believed that the Germans had six 155mm guns here. With a range of over 15 miles, they could hit anywhere along either of the beaches.
The plan called for three companies of Army Rangers, comprised of 225+ men, to land on the beach below and scale the cliffs using rope hooks and ladders. This included four 100 foot ladders requisitioned from the London fire fighters.
Another five companies were to join them after they had achieved the climb. However, due to communications problems, no transmission was received and the additional companies were committed to Omaha Beach.
Unfortunately, the Rangers found that the guns had been moved and dummies placed in their stead. They proceeded in-land and happened on five of the six guns. (The sixth was being repaired elsewhere.) Using thermite, they destroyed all five guns.
After destroying the guns, they were trapped by German forces and, after two days of fighting, they ran out of food and ammunition. Fortunately, American forces arrived in time and drove off the German troops.
At Omaha Beach, 34,250 Americans came ashore that day; however, they suffered 2,400 casualties. Because the 13,000 bombs dropped before the landing totally missed their targets and the intense naval bombardment was ineffective, the landing at Omaha was one of the bloodiest with many of the wounded left to drown in the rising tide.
Above Omaha Beach is the American Cemetery which contain 9,386 remains spread over 172.5 acres of lush green land. It sits on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944 as the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. I came away from this day with much more than I had expected. I don't know that young people today appreciate the sacrifices made for them at this time to defeat the horror that was Adolph Hitler, the Third Reich and the Axis Powers. However, they should come to these hallowed places and talk to the people that lived it.
I honestly believe that the service held this day was not a tourist attraction, but a tribute from the hearts of the People of Normandy to honor the Americans who came to liberate them. They know the truth and they don't forget.
Standing on the beach, I took no pictures on the land side of the beach as it rose gently from the sand. However, after getting back on the coach we drove for several miles along the beach. Within less than half a mile, the landward side rose to the bluffs that were depicted in "Private Ryan". It was easy to see why getting to the top of the bluffs was so difficult.
To Versailles