The Beaches of Normandy at Utah and Omaha

We knew we were in for a long day and Gott sie Dank it was a beautiful day!  After a nice French breakfast we drove about 40 minutes to Utah Beach to the D-Day Landing Museum.  We were definitely not going to cover all 75 miles of the Atlantic Coast, just mainly the American sites.  We arrived at the opening and were very impressed with the entire complex.  It is newly built around the remains of a concrete German bunker and is nestled in the sand dunes on the beach.  The museum is filled with unique artifacts not seen at other museums, a lot of war memorabilia and fascinating facts as well as personal accounts and belongings of some of the GI's.  It also includes an impressive display of restored vehicles, including the B-26 war bomber "Dinah Might" inside.  We really enjoyed the 20 minute movie depicting the D-Day events too.  You can read as many books as you like on the subject of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy and watch Band of Brothers 1000 times, but the museum brings to life the experiences of the day and helped fill in many gaps in my knowledge of the events.

D-Day Landing Museum at Utah Beach

 

Restored B-26 Bomber

Since the museum sits right on Utah Beach, being able to look out the large glass windows through some of the old defenses just added to the whole impression.  It certainly brings a sense of realism to the displays, but nothing beats standing at the memorial overlooking one of the beaches where it all happened.  

Awesome display in the museum

 
We walked outside to visit some of the monuments on the beach and then drove into the town of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.  To be standing on the grounds where such a war occurred that changed the course of history...what a feeling.
 

Utah Beach - anti tank wall

Saint-Marie-du-Mont lies at the end of a long causeway linking the beach to higher ground and was therefore a principal objective of paratroopers of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division.  We walked around the town reading the stories that were posted on buildings that had specific purposes back in June 1944.

Shop in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont with a pretend paratrooper!

Next stop was the Point du Hoc Ranger Monument which was the Germans' most heavily fortified position along the D-Day Beaches and it was literally bombed to smithereens.   

Not rolling hills at the Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument

We stood here at the cliff's edge and thought about the US Army Rangers climbing it with borrowed ladders from the London fire department and getting shot at from the Germans.  The Monument in the picture below is in memory of the 2nd Rangers Battalion. Commanded by Colonel James E. Rudder of the 1st American Infantry Division, they assaulted and captured La Pointe du Hoc battery; the memorial is built on a control firing casemate where bodies of the soldiers still lie under the ruins. 

The little John Deere is doing his rounds around the grounds

We traveled back towards Omaha Beach and had lunch at Hotel Casino on the beach.  It was here that the Americans assembled their own floating bridge and artificial harbor. The pontoon bridge was just up the road but we didn't get a picture. 

Omaha Beach in front of Hotel Casino

We were just down the road from Omaha Beach where we were the night before but could spend time at now since it was a beautiful day. The highest casualty rates occurred at Omaha Beach, nicknaming it "Bloody Omaha."  After all that we had seen that day it was hard not to picture what this scenery was like 69 years ago.  The metal sculpture on the Beach rises from the waves in honor of the liberating forces, and to symbolize the rise of freedom on the wings of hope.  It was made by a local artist and looked absolutely beautiful.

Finally, we were off to the American Cemetery.  We had visited the one in Luxembourg as well almost 2 years ago.   There is something so peaceful, so serene, and obviously so sad as we wandered through the 9,300 white marble crosses and Stars of David.  My heart felt heaviest as I realized how many of these fallen heroes were the mere age of 18 or 19 and what they had done for our country. I have goose bumps as I write this.

 

There were so many marked this way.

Behind this statue in the picture below, are the names of the 1,557 soldiers that were never found.  A small metal knob was placed next to a name whose body was eventually found but there weren't many.

Statue represents the spirit of American youth

It was a great day.  We were just down the road from our Hotel where we went back for a short rest before venturing out for dinner.  Port-in-Bessin was a little fishing harbor west of Arromanches in Normandy, it was situated between two landing zones, Omaha Beach the Vth American Corps sector, and Gold Beach the XXXth British Corps sector.  We walked along the harbor and found a nice restaurant where Dave could try mussels.

Yuck. But he said they were delicious.

The town of Port-en-Bessin

We were so happy to have been able to experience what we had in Normandy.  We were just a few days away from the 69th anniversary of D-Day too!  Another iconic piece of American and World history we can check off our list during our time here.  We are truly blessed!