We scheduled a tour for ourselves to see the American landing sights on the Normandy beaches as well as the German and American Cemeteries. Our tour picked up basically right outside of our hotel, and was a small group of eight including ourselves. Our tour guide was wonderful, and despite the emotionally difficult subject matter, I'm so glad we took time to see these.
Our first stop was one of the German Cemeteries. America was the only country who asked families if they wanted loved ones to be brought back home. The other countries involved have traditions of burying their soldiers where they died. I found the German Cemetery to be surprisingly moving. So many of those who fought on the German side were made to do so by force...be they Germans or those who lived in the countries Germany occupied. So many just fought to survive. The mound you see pictured above contains the bodies of some 300 unnamed soldiers, and atop the mound there is a statue of a grieving mother and father.
From there we travelled to Sainte-Mere-Eglise to sight of one of the major paratrooper landings. This is where John Steele and Ken Russell landed on the church roof. There is also a wonderful D-Day Landing museum here that is a must see if you're in the area.
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| A thank you stained glass window to the town from the living paratroopers. |
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| Stained glass dedicated to John Steele, Ken Russell, and the other paratroopers who landed in Normandy. |
We continued on to Utah beach...the most successful landing of the American troops on D-Day.
It's so strange to see such beautiful scenery full of barbed wire. We also visited Omaha Beach, which was a devastating landing...although still more successful than was predicted it would be. It's really hard to stand on such beautiful beaches and to imagine the horror that happened there. And again...so inspiring and saddening wrapped into one little package.
After a lovely lunch at the beach we continued on to Pointe du Hoc. The site of the Rudder's Rangers landing. This was especially fascinating as Col. Rudder was an Aggie. It's quite an impressive "story" and not one I can do justice here on the blog.
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| Gig 'em Rudder's Rangers. |
After Omaha Beach our final stop was the American Cemetery. Words can't express the feeling(s) this creates in you. Every grave is in perfect light. Every. Single. One. And they way the light glows off of them is almost as if they were being kissed by God.
From there we travelled to Sainte-Mere-Eglise to sight of one of the major paratrooper landings. This is where John Steele and Ken Russell landed on the church roof. There is also a wonderful D-Day Landing museum here that is a must see if you're in the area. 
We continued on to Utah beach...the most successful landing of the American troops on D-Day. 
It's so strange to see such beautiful scenery full of barbed wire. We also visited Omaha Beach, which was a devastating landing...although still more successful than was predicted it would be. It's really hard to stand on such beautiful beaches and to imagine the horror that happened there. And again...so inspiring and saddening wrapped into one little package.
After a lovely lunch at the beach we continued on to Pointe du Hoc. The site of the Rudder's Rangers landing. This was especially fascinating as Col. Rudder was an Aggie. It's quite an impressive "story" and not one I can do justice here on the blog.
