Normandy to Rouen

We started the day by visiting a caramel factory in Insigny. It was the best smelling tour we have been on. Although it was all in French, we got the gist of it, and free caramels. You can't beat that.






Next we wanted to get some small mementos from Omaha, and I (Dave) wanted to see the Coleville exit (having already seen the other 3). So for the 3rd day in a row we drove down to Omaha. There is something that pulls us there.












Here we found the monument to the 1st Infantry Division, the Big Red One. They landed on the eastern half of Omaha and suffered tremendous losses. The monument is built on what used to be a large gun emplacement with bunkers, trenches, and nests. It was amazing, again. (Holley added the picture of the Normandy cows. We are fans of their products. ;)



Also, there is a monument to the many Engineers who fought and died. At Omaha the engineers landed expecting to clear the beach of obstacles and make roads. Many found guns and became infantry soldiers in a desperate fight to survive.



We then drove to Caen to visit the famous World War II museum. While Gary visited a man he baptized (Caen was his first area) we toured a very long, very in-depth, history museum from the end of WWI to the end of WWII.









One quick stop in Benouville at Pegasus Bridge to finish the afternoon. I love this story. 6 gliders with 25+ troopers each from the British Airborne are towed over the channel and are released 6 miles out. They land on a thin stretch of land between the Caen Canal and Orne River in order to capture 2 bridges leading inland from the British beaches. They land some 50 yards from the bridge, and take it in 5 minutes. (Holley added a picture of the current bridge as it was letting a boat through.)


Sadly our time in Normandy is up. What beautiful country, and unbelievable sites. We have loved traveling through the history of the Battle of Normandy. We then travelled to our pit stop for the night in Rouen. The picture is of our bed and breakfast. It is much larger than all of our previous stays.

Good night






-Bloggin' on the go. Bonjour!

Memorial Day

We stayed the night near Omaha St. Laurent. After a wonderful breakfast of bread, bread, baguette, and butter, and croissant we were ready to go. We eat a lot of bread.


First stop was a Vierville, the western edge of Omaha. The morning was cool and Foggy, which added to the emotion of the morning. Here we were, on Memorial Day, looking over the section of the beach where some of the most intense fighting took place. Behind us was exit D-1, a heavily defended road off the beach that the Americans wanted. The Germans sat protected in their cement bunkers and hidden places, while our boys ran exposed up 300 yards of beach through machine gun fire, mortars, and artillery. This morning it was quiet and peaceful.


A monument to the national guard troops who fought that morning. The 29th division was made up of national guard troops. Company A, in the first wave, had 60% of its men from one town, Bedford Virginia. They suffered an 85% casualty rate in the first ten minutes. The monument is built on a German bunker.


The main monument on Omaha, near St. Laurent, honoring all the allied troops who participated on D-day.


It really was a world wide effort.





This is the "sculpture" or monument on the beach. I think it was titled "wings of freedom".


Someone has scratched "liberte" and "freedom" into the sand.


Our next very emotional stop was the American Cemetery at Coleville. I'm not sure words are necessary here.








The garden of the missing. About 1300 names are inscribed on the walls, those whose bodies were never found. "The earth is your sepulcher..."


Long lists of names of the missing.




The statue at the center of the monument. It is encircled with the words "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the lord".


Looking out over the reflecting pool from the monument. According to personal accounts, some of the first men who successfully made it up the bluff stopped near here to rest and regroup.





What a perfect place. Sobering.





These crosses mark the unidentified bodies.











We stopped at a great pizza cafe in Bressin. We picked up dessert to eat on the way to our stop. Jenn's was a "stick to your teeth" kind of yummy treat. Holley and Jenn have way too much fun in the back seat together.


We next visited the gun battery at Longues sur Mer. This is a battery of 4 large guns, 3 of them still in place. It is about 1/4 inland overlooking the British Sector.


The guns were silenced by Navy guns from the bay.


Gary and I as conquering heroes.


Holley and Jenn in a forward artillery observation post and machine gun nest.


Notice the shell marks in the reinforced concrete. The shells didn't do much damage to 6 foot thick concrete.


What a treat. Out in the distant bay we saw the remnants of the artificial harbor, the mulberries. We sunk old ships and dropped huge blocks of cement into the bay to form a break (kind of like a reef), then set up a dock system. We unloaded thousands of vehicles and 100's of thousands of men here and at Omaha.


We thought this view of the bay across a wheat field was spectacular.









While Gary did wash Holley, Jenn, and I went to the Bayeux tapestry. This is a 70 yard long tapestry, only about a 1000 years old, which tells the story of William the Conquerer (a Norman) and his triumph over the Saxons in England to become king. They sailed across the channel in boats such as these. It was actually very cool. Sorry, no pictures allowed.

To Normandy

Good morning! Yesterday, we...


Took a morning walk around Mont Saint Michel. Did I mention this island has A LOT of stairs? Our legs got a good workout on this walk! It was fun to explore the nooks and crannies of this village. Amazing they were able to build it and it has stood the test of time. (I think that is actually a theme
throughout France.)


Dave and I looking out our hotel room windows.



Gary and Jenn on their fancy courtyard. Gary assumed they would be in the Kings Chambers, and he was right. ;)



Eating our waffle breakfast before leaving the island.

Now we are on to our WWII tour and Dave will be taking over the blog. He has read so much about the war and brought a binder full of information to share with the rest of us. Honestly, he would make a great tour guide. His stories have made the sites we have visited so much more meaningful and we are truly getting a lesson in history. I made it about two minutes before my tears started. I fought back bawling at times. But the words below, on a plaque at the first memorial were what started me off.



I hope you could read that as I am not sure the image quality this blog app allows us is good enough for that, but the last three words are "Never forget them." How could we?

Here's Dave.


Our first stop was La Fiere bridge. It was here that the 82nd airborne stopped the German advance toward Utah beach. Read about it. It is an amazing story filled with incredible personal accounts.



The Iron Mike monument at La Fiere commemorating the airborne. St. Michael is the patron saint of the airborne, hence Iron Mike.



Our guide.




2 bridges cross the Mederet River, here at La Fiere and at Chef du Pont. Both had to be taken to stop the German advance, and open up the peninsula.

Next we traveled a couple km east to St. Mere Eglise, the first town liberated on d-day. This was an important objective as it lies on a main north-south highway. It is home to the airborne museum.



The gang in front of a C-47 transport plane. Over 800 were used that night to drop American paratroopers into Normandy.



A stick of paratroopers came down right on the city of St. Mere Eglise. The residents and Germans were out fighting a house fire, which lit up the sky. Many paratroopers were killed as they landed in the square. Trooper John Steele hung from one of the church spires by his parachute most of the night until he was taken down by the Germans.



The beautiful stained glass window in the church. 2 paratroopers and Mary.



Monument to a C47 crash in a very small town in Beuzville. For those who are familiar with the book or movie Band of Brothers, the plane was carrying the company commander of Easy Company, Lt. Thomas Meehan. Because of his death Lt. Dick Winters became company commander of Easy, and the rest is history. Just before Meehan boarded his plane for Normandy he sent a letter to his wife with the following.....

"Dearest Anne, In a few hours I'm going to take the best company of men in the world to France. We'll give the (insert swear word) hell. Strangely, I'm not particularly scared. But in my heart is a terrific longing to hold you in my arms. I love you Sweetheart-forever. Your Tom."


Monument to Easy Company close to Brecourt Manor, where Easy attacked 4 German 105 mm guns shelling Utah beach. With 13 men they took out the guns defended by about 50 Germans.



My beautiful bride and I at Utah.



Utah beach.



Monument to the Navy at Utah.



German bunker at Utah.



One of my favorite sites. At Angoville-au-Plain 2 American medics set up an aid station in the church. There was intense fighting for 3 days and the town changed hands multiple times. The medics stayed in the church the whole time treating both the American and German wounded. There is a monument to both men in the square and 2 amazing stained glass windows.



Paratrooper over the church. The light reflection is so cool.



The screaming eagle of the 101 airborne is at the top, followed by the jump wings, and the regiment insignia. The names of the medics, Robert Wright and Kenneth Moore, are at the bottom under the statue of liberty. The red ribbon reads, "Greater love hath no man than this, than he lay down his life for his friends".