Since we just had the 6th of June which was the 81st anniversary of D-Day, I'll skip to the beaches in Normandy that we visited during our trip to France and which were so important for the eventual liberation of Europe from the terror regime of Nazi Germany.
These are the five beaches, stretched along the coast of Normandy, where Allied forces, including the US, Great Britain and Canada, stormed onto land as part of Operation Overlord.
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The first beach we went to was Utah Beach. Nowadays, the beach looks peaceful and rather empty since it was a cool and gloomy day. But what was this like on June 6, 1944? A very different picture and the outcome still unknown on that morning. The beaches had all been enforced and were littered with mines, antitank barriers etc.
That's why before the amphibious landing 175 Naval Combat Demolition Unit "Frogmen" landed on Utah and Omaha beaches to clear all these obstacles. The statue of The Lone Sailor in Normandy pays tribute to these men and all Sea Service personnel. It is located on the plaza in front of the Utah Beach Museum.
There are other statues as well.
The most stirring was this one - it brought up a lot of emotion in me.
What was going on in the minds and hearts of this young soldiers while they were transported on the landing craft, also called Higgins boat, from their ships to close to the beach? They knew that they would be greeted with fierce fire and they were going into battle from which they didn't know whether they would return alive or injured and marked for the rest of their lives. Were they thinking of their homeland and their families that they had left behind? Were they praying? I cannot imagine what it must have felt like for these brave men.
In the museum I saw this very touching letter by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944), the author of Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince). I remember reading this and asking myself whether he would write the same today? Would it still be the same text? You can find the entire text in a slightly different translation here if you're interested. There is also a very interesting article by Steve Schmidt about what it means to be an American, inspired by this letter. An interesting, provocative read that asks a lot of questions.
Our next stop was Omaha Beach, nowadays home to the impressive sculpture Les Braves (The Braves), created by Anilore Banon.
Les Braves pays tribute to the Allies that landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. It was unveiled on June 6th, 2004, during the 60th anniversary commemorations.
The sculpture consists of three elements. Anilore Banon:
The sculpture is truly impressive and very beautiful at the same time. We walked around it for a long time and took way too many photos of the different perspectives.
It was incredibly moving. I do lack the words to adequately express what I was feeling.
A twin of the original sculpture, also created by Anilore Bannon, can be found in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.
Our next stop was Cap Manvieux from where we had a first view over Arromanches and the remains of the artificial harbor that was errected in 1944, one of the Mulberry Harbours.
Remains of the artificial harbor can be seen out in the sea (photo above) and on the beach in Arromanches. When we went there, someone played a backpipe on a wall near the beach. Listening to "Amazing Grace" on this overcast day really contributed to the gloomy mood.
The concrete remains were interesting and sinister at the same time.
Our last stop on this day was the British Normandy Memorial.
We saw little memorials that people left everywhere, not just here.
But here at the British Normandy Memorial we also found the acknowledgement of the war nurses and the enormous work that they had done.
Saying that it was difficult that day to come back to some kind of normalcy is an understatement. We had failed to look for a place to spend the night and since it was already rather late in the afternoon we scrambled to find a hotel in the area. We finally found a good and affordable one in Caen and right next to it was a restaurant where we had a pretty good dinner. A small bottle of rosé was welcome (this is for T Tuesday) and I throroughly enjoyed the profiteroles dessert.
17 comments:
...a beautiful tribute to an important event in history!
Sombre and beautiful. Thank you.
I enjoyed this post very much. My husband and I have been thinking about traveling here.
I was blown away by your incredible photos, but even more impressed by your heartfelt words. I could feel the emotion as you talked about the young men who might or might not live after that day. It was quite touching, as was that letter to the men of the U.S. Your words really had an impact on me. Your photos added that extra punch.
It was great you could end the post with a glass of wine and desserts that made my mouth water. Thanks for this amazing post for T this Tuesday, dear Carola. I have missed you.
You wrote a moving post about your visit to those beaches. I would like to visit here, and I bet the visit itself is even more moving than the photos and reading about it. Especially if you try to visualize what it was like during D Day. Thanks for sharing these. And boy, that dessert...it's making me drool. :) Hope it was a super T day. hugs-Erika
This is beyond words. So touching!
What a powerful and moving account—standing on those beaches and witnessing the remnants of history must have been both humbling and deeply emotional, especially with the echoes of "Amazing Grace" in the background.
This moving text only adds to the sombre relevance of your visit, Carola, made all the more remarkable by the fact that you are able to view it from two perspectives, that of a German and also of a citizen of the world who has chosen to live in America. You have done a truly remarkable job of conveying the dignity of this memorial. My daughter and son-in-law visited when they lived in France for seven months about twenty-five years ago and they said they were quiet, almost speechless, for the rest of the day. Shame on Trump for parading his weapons of war in Washington. I hope that everyone will boycott the event. Thank you for an articulate, sensitive account of your visit. Nobody could have told it better. With love and admiration - David
Yes, a very moving post indeed. I confess I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes. Strangely enough it was the lone piper on the bulkhead that got me sobbing. I could hear him in my minds eye.
Of all the statues, the Lone Soldier moved me. His look of grim determination. That was really a scary job to go before all the others and prepare the way.
The whole thing was so well organized and well prepared. I've seen documentaries and read books about the subject as it is something that interests me. My country (Netherlands) was brutally occupied and my parents suffered in their own way. My mum nearly starved and my dad, who would liked to have fought for his country, was taken to Germany and made to do forced labour for the Germans.
Without those brave boys on the beaches of Normandy, I don't think I'd be here.
Saint Exupéry's letter is very interesting. I had never seen that.
And to answer your comment on my blog: You were absolutely right. It was indeed a tiramisu cake.
Lisca
I read your moving words with sadness because I deeply fear that we as a nation are betraying the spirit of the brave men (and maybe a few women eventually) who fought and died as you so vividly describe.
OMGosh. I'm a bit teary eye'd. This should be posted everywhere. Would you please link this to FFO. Of course with any other posts you want too. Thank you for being so thoughtful to share this.
A beautiful tribute, Carola, thank you so much for sharing. The photos and memories are so important...lest we forget. The dessert looks very good.
Thank you, Carola, for this very informative post about such a pivotal moment in history. While I am not sure we may ever visit in person, I truly appreciated your descriptions, photos and text. I can imagine how emotional one could get just imaging what happened on these beaches so many years ago.
Also, the profiteroles dessert must have tasted delicious as just from the photo it looked so good..
This is such a powerful post and sad but important reminder of how low our nation has sunk since those brave days of WWII. Your words are so eloquent and so very important to recall. Unfortunately, those who need most to hear them won't listen. On another level, they bring back deeply meaningful memories of my visit to Normandy and the beaches. I'm so glad you mentioned Arromanches. So many have never heard of it and I found it fascinating. The day I visited I saw a man fishing in the harbor and on the beaches below the American cemetery, a family picnicking with their young daughter. Both incredibly full of peace. This is why we fought.
A beautiful tribute, Carola, to the brave soldiers and nurses who landed on D-day. Several years ago we visited Juno Beach to see the Canadian memorial and were similarly struck by the dignity of the memorials. In Arromanches we walked along the shore. The juxtaposition of a carousel and a piece of war machinery is something that has stayed with me. Let us never forget.
Me ha encantado verlo Carola, tal vez un día pueda ir a verlo personalmente. Mi pierna aún le falta para recuperarse y creo que ya me quedará así, aunque puedo andar mejor que antes, hay cosas que están peor, lo malo es que la otra pierna también tengo que operarla. Abrazos y gracias.
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