A Day of Remembrance

Yesterday was all about remembering the famous D-Day events that took place on June 6, 1944. Our first stop was the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. This is the resting grounds of the remains of over 9,300 American soldiers who fought during World War II (most of whom were killed during the Battle of Normandy).

Overlooking Omaha Beach

The cemetery also includes a great Visitors Center that has multiple films, a database consisting of all of the soldiers who fought in Normandy, as well as a lot of very interesting information regarding the planning, execution, and aftermath of the Allied invasion.

Those who sacrificed their lives in Normandy

Survivors

Sacrifices at Home

Niland Brothers - The story of which Saving Private Ryan is based off of. The bottom two brothers are buried in the cemetery

Also in the cemetery is a chapel and a memorial. The center of the memorial has a large statue in the middle that represents the Spirit of American Youth. On the sides are etchings of the battles that took place in Normandy. And in the back of the monument is a rose garden and a surrounding wall that includes over 1,500 names of missing soldiers from Normandy whose bodies were never recovered or identified. If the remains were eventually identified, there was a small gold knob placed next to their name.

Chapel

Ceiling of the chapel

Memorial

Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves

Missing soldiers

Etched in at the top of the wall says: Comrades in Arms Whose Resting Place is Known Only to God

After the cemetery, we drove down to Omaha Beach that also has some memorial statues. Just trying to imagine what this place looked like over 70 years ago is not only mind-boggling, but it is also a sad thing to remember.

After having lunch at Omaha Beach, we took a short drive down the road so my Dad and Adam could check out a bunker and another memorial.

We then drove over to the Pointe Du Hoc Ranger Monument. Located between Omaha and Utah Beach, this is where the United States Army Ranger Assault Group scaled the cliffs to capture Pointe Du Hoc from the Germans. The memorial site had a visitors center, which had a moving video of 3-4 Rangers re-counting their memories of the day that they fought the Germans at Pointe Du Hoc. The rest of the site included information on the planning and execution of the battle, as well as the site itself, which had countless craters and bunkers.

Craters like this were all over the place

Cliffs that the U.S. Army Rangers scaled

And finally, our last stop was the cliff at Arromanches, where you could get a view of the artificial harbor created by England to offload cargo onto the beaches during the Allied invasion. While my mom and I were a little "D-Dayed out," Adam and my Dad went to go check out the sites.

And thus concludes our trip to Normandy. After Arromanches, we made our way back to Paris. 

We all enjoyed Normandy. The battle sights we got to see and especially the American Cemetery were all very moving. It's amazing to learn how this part of the war was all carried out, and all you can do is admire and remember the heroes that risked (and lost) their lives for freedom. It was truly an unforgettable experience.