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As I was leaving this Bayeux this morning, they were stringing lights across the streets, I'm assuming in anticipation of June 6. The place feels festive!
First stop was the city of Arromanches, which basically splits the American beaches (Utah and Omaha) with the British and Canadian beaches (Gold, Juno and Sword.) Arromanches was where one of the two temporary harbors was built in the days after D-Day. Ok, I knew nothing about these temporary harbors, so I'm sharing the history lesson because they were amazing, especially the one at Arromanches. Hitler knew if the Allied were to attack the French coast, they would have to do it in one of the large harbor towns; how else to you 'unload' jeeps, tanks, etc from the ships? Therefore, Hitler put most of his energy and strength into the harbor towns. The Allies knew this, so Churchill came up with the idea of building a harbor in a matter of days. It was like a legos project. They built the 'pieces' in England, then tugged them (some were concrete pieces as long as a football field) across the channel and put them together. In the end, they had 4 one mile long roads that started in the channel and ran up on the beach, onto which everything they needed on land could be transported, including tanks. It was a marvel of modern engineering. While they thing was eventually supposed to trip off into the Channel, enough pieces of it still exist so you can get an idea of how large the perimeter was. Totally amazing.
Next was a set of 4 German casements (three with guns still in tact) set up to guard against an attack from the sea. They are set up in a semi circle in a field. Apparently Hitler built over 15,000 such structures from Norway to the Pyrenees, but this is the only bunker still standing. These guns could hit a target up to 12 miles away, so when you watch old war movies about D-Day, it is these types of guns/casements that the Allies were trying to destroy. There was also an observation bunker set up on a cliff overlooking the Channel, and staff in it could radio back to the gunners and tell them where to aim. Really cool to see.
After checking out a couple museums in the area, I headed to the American Cemetery at Omaha. I don't even know what words to use to describe it. The first stop is a great visitors center, which includes a 20 minute moving that had more than a few people crying. The center really tries to make the cemetery personal; it tells many stories about individuals, and not just those that died. It also tells stories of people who survived Normandy. Finally, it also wants to make sure visitors understand that while some people physically survived Normandy (and the war), many were emotionally scarred for life, and these less visible casualties needed to be remembered and honored, too. And this is all before you step foot in the cemetery! The cemetery grounds are immaculate. They overlook Omaha beach, the landscaping is gorgeous, and the grounds are immaculate. All stones list the name, rank, home state and date of death. None of them include date of birth….there's no need, we all know the vast majority were very, very young. There is a gorgeous statue (see pics) that focuses on strength….these men (mostly men) died for a cause and they will be forever young and strong to their loved ones. There was a separate garden for those never found, and there was a beautiful chapel in the middle of the cemetery. What may have been most touching was how many French people were there, especially families with children. I heard way more French than English. (Later in the day I was watching a movie at a museum, and in an interview with a US war nurse, she says she thinks the French do a better job remembering and honoring the Americans killed in Normandy than the Americans do.) A shocking number of graves had a flower next to them (mostly single flowers, but sometimes a bouquet). I got the impression it was the French who were usually putting the flowers on the tombstones. A very, very powerful place. It was sad, but there is also a strong sense of pride to the place. It is very hard to explain.
After that I was drained. I went to a small museum that focuses just on Omaha beach, then called it a day. Tonight is laundry night (again).
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