[nutmeg]

It's rare that a childhood memory holds up 30-plus years later, but this one stayed true. My eyes welled up as I stood still and looked from marker to marker in one small quadrant of the enormous graveyard. Reading each name felt like a physical blow as I tried to comprehend the potential that had died with them and the impact on their families. I left red-eyed, wishing I had more time to linger, to walk the beach or go further down the coast to see the cliffs the Army Rangers climbed.

Oh my goodness... thanks so much for that link. I will have to go back and read all of Bonnie DeSimone's articles.

Her experience Colleville-sur-Mer sounds the same as ours back in 1995. It is impossible to leave the American Cemetery without red eyes...

My husband and I also visited the D-Day Museum nearby and Pointe-Du-Hoc. Geesh, it's been 11 years... time for a return visit soon, I hope.

[luv2ski]

We were there in 2000. My eldest son got to participate in the lowering of the flag that evening. It is such a breathtakingly beautiful place! The way they put sand from the beach in the engraved name on the cross when family visits is incredible, too.
Looking at those bunkers that still dot the beach, I just kept thinking, "How did we beat these guys?" We went home and watched "The Longest Day" over and over.
I found the French people in Normandy to be the most friendly and welcoming that we encountered in France. There were several people that went out of their way to express their gratitude to the Allied Troops for freeing them from German rule. They, at least, get it.