Posted on 04/20/2004 5:17:47 PM PDT by Euro-American Scum
Just wondered if any other Freepers besides myself were going to France in six weeks to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Normandy invasion.
This has been in the works for me for over a year, and as a general goal for the last twenty years. Ever since Ronald Reagan spoke at the American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach in 1984, really. Part of the motivation is that this will undoubtedly be the last such gathering of American veterans who actually participated in the assault. As such, it will be the last occasion to honor this extraordinary group of Americans and say "Good job. Well done!" before they leave us.
For those of you who have already this trip in previous years, my tour group will be ensconsced in Deauville with the Stephen Ambrose tour group. Looking at a map, and never having been to France, this looks like quite a long haul from the actual invasion beaches. And from what I've heard, the roads leading into and out of the Caen/Carantan area aren't exactly superhighways.
We're being bussed in for the D-Day events. And I can only imagine that there will be some massive traffic tie-ups, not to mention heavy security since this gathering figures to be a terrorist's wet dream.
One promise I made to myself, as this excursion took shape, was to be on Omaha Beach at 0600 on the morning of June 6, 2004, just to try and get a sense of what the wind and tides might have been like on that fateful morning. The rest I know I'll never be able to imagine in my wildest fantasies. Anybody who has any ideas about the best way to accomplish this, coming from Deauville, I'm all ears. Train? Cab? Private tour guide? And yes, I'm prepared to get up at 0300 that morning to get there on time.
It's the least I can do considering how many others put in much greater effort to accomplish so much more.
Will do.
BluSky, the Official Site lists many events prior to June 4-7, may be of interest to you.
My Uncle, his wife, and a few friends are staying in Caen. My sisters, niece & I are staying at a B&B in Villerville, ~40 miles away. Gonna be crowded, prolly horrible traffic up & down the Normandy coast, but as Euro-American Scum said, I would not miss this (probable) last chance to attend an Anniversary w/ my uncle for the world.
He went back for the first time 2 years ago, went to London first to look up old friends he made while stationed there for 2 years before the invasion. I asked him if he was going to take the train via the Chunnel, he replied "No, I want to take a boat, like the last time".
The actual anniversary day -- June 6 -- will probably be so choked with visitors as to make free roaming impossible. That's why we've got seven days scheduled in the Normandy area.
One of my personal "must see: areas is Brecourt Manor -- where Easy Company, 506th PIR assaulted the German artillery garrison firing on Utah Beach. Time permitting, I'll get there (Utah).
Ste. Mere-Eglise is another priority site, as is Carentan, Point de Hoc, Omaha, the American cemetery, Pegasus Bridge. Too much to see in too short a time. But I don't figure to make it back there anytime soon, so this figures to be it.
Consider this: The men who crossed those beaches -- and not just in Normandy but all over Europe and everywhere in the Pacific from Guadalcanal to Okinawa -- were the children of the Depression.
Think about that. As children they were, in all probability dirt poor, poorly clothed, marginally educated (not all, but many), undernourished and underfed. And yet, as adults, they weathered a firestorm of military might and beat it back everywhere they encountered the enemy. And there's no way they could have accomplished this without being chosen by God and empowered by His Holy Spirit.
I am so proud of my father's generation, and all the men who served in it, I just can't tell you.
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