Sunday, September 19, 2010

Normandy, France Part 2 (The Beach)

I had returned to the train station in Bayeux, France with my hopes dashed. I had not anticipated that a security lock down would prevent local transportation from taking me to the American Cemetery, at Omaha Beach. When I got to the train station with my tail between my legs I saw an elderly man speaking with a teen. He caught my attention because in a foreign land your ears immediately pick up on the voices of your countrymen. This is one of the instances that the angel on my shoulder made itself known. Out of curiosity I approached the man and he was telling the teens that he had been here before, sixty years ago. Recognizing what a privilege it would be to get a first hand account about the events that took place, I eagerly listened to the man speaking. After he was done speaking I greeted him, and thanked him for his services. He told me that he brought his Son and wife along to show them where his company landed during the D-Day invasion. He told me that he had land with the 1st infantry division (The Big Red One) during that bloody day. When he asked, I told him that I was unable to make it to the beach because the transit was not operating. To my disbelief, he told me to join his family in the ride   to the beach. I could never have imagined that I would be so blessed with such an opportunity. The amount of World War II veterans is receding quickly, so I could not turn down this chance to have an eye witness account of the largest amphibious assault in World history. I gingerly followed the man and his son to their rental and sat in the back seat with his wife. On the way to the beach we passed through the beautiful country side. We passed small villages, and large chateaus. Before we arrived at our destination we stopped in the village of Coleville-Sur-Mer. There was a small museum there dedicated to the First Infantry division. The owner of the museum had found all of it's exhibits while walking on the beach where the troops had landed. In the museum there were many articles from fallen soldiers; helmets, uniforms, and remnants from the battlefield. We soon left the museum and several minutes later arrived at the American National Cemetery, overlooking Omaha Beach. The main memorial service had ended so we were able to get in relatively easy. As soon as we parked I was out of the car walking through the cemetery. There was a small ceremony I watched with a veteran presenting a flag to fallen comrades. Soon after I made my way down to the beach, through a maze of the infamous hedgerows. I found the beach easy enough, but getting back would be quite the opposite. My guide showed me where his company had landed and he described the event in vivid detail.


Infamous tank trap found on Omaha Beach





There was few of the bunkers left that made up the Atlantic wall but I made sure to explore what was there. The beach was beautiful, it was hard for me to believe that before, it was a killing field where thousands of soldiers had died; they had not the chance to fight in a war that they had trained for many months. In the present day it is lush with vegetation blanketing the bluffs that rise above the beach. I continued to explore what was left of the Atlantic wall, and soon got separated from my guide. In a blink of an eye I had lost track of him and his family. I would not see him again, and it is sad that I was unable to thank him properly for giving me the experience that any modern history buff would envy. It is an experience that I am truly thankful for. With my guide no where to be found I was out of a ride home. I would have to improvise.



Omaha Beach




    

Bugle ceremony




Remaining bunker that housed German Artillery






Overlooking the English Channel





The arduous climb




Looking toward Utah Beach







Ghosts of the past
Bunker overlooking beach

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