Our next port of call was Caudebec-en-Caux. From there we took a bus to D-Day sites in Normandy. We first stopped at Pointe Du Hoc, lying between Omaha Beach and Utah Beach. In World War II, German forces occupied Pointe du Hoc, protecting the coastline with a battery of heavy guns. On the morning of June 6, 1944, US Army Rangers scaled 90-foot cliffs to capture this heavily defended position and then held it against repeated counterattacks. Their heroic actions helped to establish an Allied foothold in France and began the liberation of Europe.

The pictures below show the rough terrain encountered by Allied forces after crossing the English Channel, the Pointe Du Hoc Ranger Monument, and the remnants of a German gun battery placed to defend against an Allied invasion.

These are pictures of a German bunker. There was one we could go inside and see the different rooms (second and third pictures) and the view soldiers had of the English Channel (last picture in this section). The bunkers at Normandy were concrete fortifications built by German forces to defend against an Allied invasion. These defenses included large gun emplacements (a stationary position for a gun). The bunkers had thick, concrete walls and metal roofing designed to protect soldiers and withstand attacks while providing a firing advantage. The crew of these bunkers would have seen the ships and landing craft on the morning of June 6, 1944.

We next visited Omaha Beach. The picture above the title of this post was taken there. This is a summary from the internet about the assault:

Omaha Beach was the bloodiest of the D-Day landing beaches on June 6, 1944, where American forces faced heavily fortified German defenses, resulting in significant casualties, with approximately 2,400 soldiers killed, wounded, or missing by day’s end. The strong defenses and difficult terrain, including steep bluffs and mined obstacles, made the initial assault a chaotic struggle against intense machine-gun fire. Despite the heavy losses and initial setbacks, American forces eventually secured a foothold on the beach, paving the way for the liberation of Europe.

The first picture is a monument recognizing the Allied forces. The second picture is simply one of the beach. The last picture in this section is of the memorial, “Les Braves II: At Water’s Edge” and honors the courage and sacrifice of Allied forces on D-Day. The memorial consists of three sections representing “The Wings of Hope,” “Rise, Freedom!” and “The Wings of Fraternity.”

Our last stop was at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. The first picture shows the statue we saw as we entered, “The Spirit of American Youth Rising From the Waves.” The bronze statue is 22 feet high and faces west, toward the headstones. The statue is a reminder of the youth who were part of D-Day and the heroism they displayed.

The next picture depicts the reflecting pool at the Cemetery. The last pictures are a small portion of “The Wall of the Missing,” inscribed with 1,557 names. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified.

The next picture shows just some of the graves of the 9,387 buried at the American Cemetery. Each cross or star identifies the name of the person who died, their rank, their home state and their date of death.

In the center of the American Cemetery is a round, limestone chapel. Inside, a mosaic covers its 500-square-foot domed ceiling. On one side of the mosaic, a Goddess of Liberty, representing America, blesses the soldier before he departs to fight overseas. A warship and a bomber push through sea and air toward land on the opposite side of the dome (world). There, a red-capped figure personifying France places a laurel wreath upon the same young man. His now lifeless body leans against her as she cradles his head in her lap. Above them, the return of peace is illustrated with an angel, a dove and a homeward-bound troop ship. The mosaic is the work of artist Leon Kroll (1884-1974). He once said the mosaic was intended to represent the “full story” of war and then peace.

Our day at Normandy was an emotional one and a vivid reminder of the sacrifices made by so many of our parents’ and grandparents’ generation.