Operation Overlord

June 6,

1944.

D Day.

Le jour J.

The first day of the Invasion of Normandy and the first implementation of Operation Overlord. Number of Allied soldiers who landed on the beaches of Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword: 132,000. Number of Allied losses: 10,500. One-tenth of the invading soldiers died on a single day.

As you can tell, this last excursion was more than a little depressing. Although I had a great time and the beaches were beautiful and it was cool being in Normandy, it was really eye opening and just plain heartbreaking.

We began our trip at Caen, the site of a very important battle during the Normandy invasion. Starting the trip at the Caen memorial and museum was smart because it refreshed everyone’s knowledge of events before, during and after World War II and prepared us well for the beaches and cemeteries. Once inside, we followed a circular timeline around this enormous ball which had pictures, posters and blurbs of the end of World War I, the Roaring Twenties, the rise of totalitarianism, the Great Depression, the rise of the Nazis and finally, the outbreak of World War II.

Once downstairs, German, Soviet, and French propaganda littered the walls. There were battle plans, gas masks, clothing items and newspaper headlines. I watched a documentary about the heroics of the RAF (Royal Air Force) during The Battle of Britain and then all of us watched a short film called The Battle of Normandy. Both films were in black and white, but the latter was cool because it divided the screen in half. On the right half were the Allied forces and on the left, the Germans. When D-Day actually started the two halves became one. After watching footage from D-Day, computer animation was used to show the different battles that took place after D-Day. It was interspersed with short clips of fighting and before and after photos of French villages.

After that I toured the gift shop, found a memorial garden dedicated to the Americans (there was a Canadian garden too which I didn’t get to see) and located a Nobel Peace Prize gallery which lists all the winners in every category. Next was the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.

The American Cemetery is located alongside Omaha beach and is operated by the American government, free from French taxes in gratitude for the United States’ support during the war. Omaha and Utah were where the American troops invaded while Gold and Sword were British and Juno was Canadian.

To prepare myself, I watched the beginning of Saving Private Ryan the night before because the opening scene features this same cemetery. I will never forget the first time I saw Saving Private Ryan. I was in 10th grade American history and I was so horrified by the staggering number of crosses, I cried. I’d been to Arlington National Cemetery when I was in 5th grade, but when you’re that young it’s hard to appreciate the gravity and magnitude of the situation. (Opening scene from SPR: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZJANhWizUY)

While wandering among the crosses I noticed that most of them had the date June 6, 1944. It probably shouldn’t have been surprising, considering it was the first day of battle, but it was still extremely sobering. On the back of each cross was a number (which I assume was the man’s military service number) and on the front was their name, rank (most were privates), military unit, state and date of death. Jewish soldiers had the Star of David rather than a cross.
I decided to try to find a soldier who died on my birthday (July 25) and it took less than thirty seconds. I found that truly depressing. I also found the name “Emil” on several of the crosses and I kept thinking that could have been Grandpa. (Grandpa’s name is Emil and he fought with the Marines in the Pacific.) Exactly 9, 387 men are buried here with 307 unknown. On the “Walls of the Missing” are inscribed another 1, 557 names. Though very sad, it really is a beautiful tribute to the heroic men who died on the beaches of Normandy.

Afterwards we went down to Omaha beach. There were these really amazing sculptures in the sand and this other monument that kinda looked like a ramp from a skate park. (Snapped a shot of Adam, who very patriotically, wore his red, white and blue Washington Capitals jersey.) We only had 15 minutes at the beach so I didn’t race down to the water with the others. Instead, I sat on the steps just thinking about what had happened on these sands sixty six years earlier. The beach was beautiful, but I don’t think I’d ever be able to swim around or play games at this beach knowing that so many men died on its shores.

Next we went to the Point du Hoc which is in between Utah and Omaha beach and I was totally unprepared for what I saw. The whole field was a mass of enormous potholes which was the work of aerial bombardment. Someone joked that it was the worst golf course they’d ever seen. Funny—until you realize that a division of Texas Rangers actually used these craters as shelter from gunfire and snipers while working their way across the point. These Texas Rangers had been ordered on a near-suicidal mission to scale the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc in order to destroy the guns at this location. It was vital that the guns be destroyed since they could fire at either Utah or Omaha beach. However, the Rangers weren’t told that the artillery had been removed to an unknown location a couple days earlier so when they reached the top they were being picked off by snipers and the guns weren’t to be found. Eventually, two soldiers found the well-camouflaged guns about a kilometer away and destroyed them.

Originally the plan was to send in reinforcements after the Rangers reached the top, but as they were 40 minutes off schedule and had lost the element of surprise, it was thought the mission had failed. Thus, the reinforcements were diverted to Omaha beach (which in the end really helped out the Americans at Omaha) and couldn’t be sent for until two days later. By that time there were only 90 men left out the 225 who were part of the mission. Standing on the cliff and looking down to the ocean, I can’t believe they actually succeeded. It looks totally impossible.

I went into one of the bunkers and couldn’t see anything; it was pitch black and it reeked (of God knows what) in there. It made me feel a little bit sorry for the Germans. Anyone with claustrophobia would have gone crazy in there. I also squeezed into one of the foxholes on the cliff. Really this place would have been perfect for “Capture the Flag,” but again I don’t think that would be very respectful.

The last place we visited was the La Cambe German war cemetery. It felt more like a cemetery than the American and twice as many men were buried there (21,222 with 207 unknown burials). We also passed a Polish cemetery (which I mention because I’m half Polish) and lots of cows, sheep and horses. I should also probably mention that the Normandy region is famous for its Camembert cheese, cidre, Calvados (a highly alcoholic apple brandy), oysters, andouille sausage, crème fraiche, and of course, the Bayeux tapestry.

Here's hoping this post reminds you of all you have to be thankful for,

Heidi

The spiky things are called Czech hedgehogs, and the gas mask definitely reminds me of Greedo from Star Wars (the alien who tries to shoot Han Solo in the cantina). The chapel, mosiac, and engraving are all from the American cemetery.