Last year in advance of the 75^th Anniversary of D-Day this week, I had the opportunity to visit the Normandy region with fellow cruise ship passengers when the ship sailed into the port of Le Havre, France.  Our private tour Normandy with Brigitte (Bridget) of Unforgettable Normandy  included a split of Canadians and Americans so was curated to see both the American and Canadian cemeteries, the Canadian Juno Beach centre and Omaha Beach (she offers many options and can customize an itinerary like she did for us).  More than twenty years ago, I attempted to visit the American cemetery but arrived after closing time as I spent so much of the day driving from Paris stopping at various museums, sites and other places my friend wanted to visit. It’s probably good that I didn’t visit back then in my 20’s after college because I’m not sure I would have felt the full impact of D-Day (6 June 1944).  It was quite emotional visiting the cemeteries and beaches.  Reading about WWII in school or watching the many movies like “Saving Private Ryan” provides conceptual view but doesn’t prepare you for standing on the beautiful beach haunted by the gruesome violence and bloodshed.  Doesn’t prepare you to look out to the water once filled with traps, look at the beach and feel the deep sand that is hard to walk through and look for the bunkers. During WWII, approximately 16 million Americans served in the armed forces.  That’s a staggering number to wrap my head around.

Bridget picked us up in port for the long day at 8:30 a.m. (we would be dropped off by 5 p.m.).  After a week at sea, we were happy to be on land but knew that it was going to be a sad day despite the blue skies and picturesque puffy white clouds.  The drive to Normandy coast was going to take at least 1.5 hours (or more), lucky for us, it was a Sunday and the roads were empty. Had this been a weekday with roadworks and traffic, our day would have been a bit different.  Along the way, she narrated about the history of Normandy and surrounding areas as well as answered our questions. She had spent many years working in hospitality before joining tour companies and the visitor’s centers to tell the stories of Normandy.

The Canadian Cemetery – Private Tour Normandy

Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery and Juno Beach Center

If not for the fact that the tour group was organized by a Canadian couple, I doubt, as an American that I would have known or chosen to visit Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery which would have been a shame to miss.  As we passed the open fields on the two lane road, the colors of spring and life had arrived in the countryside fields. As the van pulled into the small dirt parking lot near Caen in lower Normandy, I saw the Canadian flag. Bridget had many laminated photos and maps to show up about the various invasion points by Canadian troops along the Normandy coast.  It was a coordinated effort by so many countries and the causalities spared no country.

In comparison to the American cemetery, the Canadian cemetery is small with 2,049 grave markers representing the ground troops who landed at Juno Beach. There are two small towers on either side of the large stone marker.  If you are searching for a particular soldier/grave site, there is a way to look them up on the guide.

The first thing I noticed is that the neatly arranged site was full of flowers, warmth and sorrow.  The majority of headstones had a Canadian Maple Leaf and a few had logos from their military division.  The soldier’s name was listed along with date of death, age (teenagers to mid-40’s) and religious symbol (Latin cross or Star of David).  Each family had the opportunity to add a quote or saying and when you took time to read them, it was both moving and felt invasive at the same time.  Each grave is surrounded with flowers, shrubs, personal notes and other items.

We spent about ½ hour wandering the cemetery.  We all wandered separately to experience it in our own way.  I walked in the center and then along the perimeter on the left side to not interfere with others in our group. There is one French grave with distinctive markings that sticks out a bit as it isn’t like the others. It belongs to a French resistance soldier, R. Guenard.

The group would continue to the Canadian Museum at Juno Beach Center.  It’s Canada’s cultural center and WWII museum.  Over 5,500 Canadians were killed during the Battle of Normandy, with 359 lives lost on D-Day.  The museum has a small fee to visit, exhibits, a film and other displays for visitors.  They also have a tour to a German bunker on the beach not far from the Center.

 

Village of Arromanches

After the long drive and the emotional visit to the Canadian sites, we stopped in the small village of Arromanches    for lunch.  There is the Museum of Normandy Landings, which is hard to miss with the military vehicle outside and the riveted date of 6 June 1944 in the door. Here there have information about Operation Overlord (code name for the Battle of Normandy), the Mulberry landings (man-made landing harbors that were floated across the English Channel) and WWII weaponry used.

The small town along the coast is the stopping point for many tours to see the remnants of the harbor and Gold Beach.  There are cafes, restaurants, quick takeaway and shops to peruse.  We first followed many locals to the bakery as there was a line and many baguettes exiting the shop.  From there we saw the staff setting up the I Love Caramels shop and we had to go a bit crazy filling our bags with Honfleur caramels, fudge and other treats.  Totally snookered by the price per 100 grams (3.5 ounces), our fun ended with the 20 euro treats (really yummy treats but tourist expensive – rookie mistake on our part to choose the heavy items). With our timing winding down, we ate freshly made sandwiches at “Speed Food” across from the museum. Then we were back in the van to continue the trek along the coast.

75^th D-Day Anniversary Banners in Normandy

Normandy, the cemeteries and nearby towns were all preparing for the 75^th Anniversary of D-Day (June 6, 2019) so there are banners around town with soldier photos and remembrances.  The American cemetery would have ropes up along the paths to preserve the grass and prepare for the influx of dignitaries and visitors from around the world. Take time to read more about the Battle of Normandy this week and listen to the personal stories of the veterans.

Omaha Beach in Normandy, France

The van, unlike the big tour bus, was able to drive to the beach, which was good as the path from the American Cemetery above is now closed due to security concerns.  It was a stunning beach and the gorgeous, albeit windy day, just added to the conflict in my mind.  Its beauty is haunted by bloodshed and awful violence.  The parts of the war not understood until you stand on the beach and look up at the ambush, look out to the water where metal traps were set up, see the memorial stone to the Army Medics who attended to wounded on the beach.  How something so awful could happen here boggles the mind.  I’m not sure I could have computed the heaviness of the loss twenty years ago when I first planned to visit.  I think now that I’m older and understand more about the war, the sacrifice of so many young men and the military, it was affecting.

As I looked up from the beach, I knew that high above was the American Cemetery at Normandy that was filled with so many lost – more than 9,000 soldiers and names of  1,500 missing.  It was a very windy day so best to turn off video sound.

 

The American Cemetery – Private Tour Normandy

It’s quiet, serene and respectful at the American Cemetery at Normandy, France.   It seems like any other park you’ve entered until you get to the D-Day time capsule marker that says to open in 100 years (June 6, 2044) to see the news reports of the day.  We entered, not from the new visitor center which was closed for renovations but now reopened, but from the path in front and walked down the path of trees. You’ll first be struck by the American trees because they are obviously not of French origin.

The tree lined path in the 172 acre memorial, opened to a large semicircle area with sculpture. There inscribed in the wall are invasion maps to get a scope of how large the D-Day invasion was. I had no clue to be honest. The maps of the landings, air operations and military operations of Western Europe along with the narrative were overwhelming for me.

The large bronze statue in the middle of the structures is named “Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves”.  Facing ahead is the reflection pool, similar to the one in Washington, D.C. with a small chapel in the middle of the burial areas. The wall of the missing which lists over 1,500 names is a semi-circle garden on the grounds.

Despite all the people visiting, it was solemn and mostly quiet – but there were still many selfie takers with big smiles that seemed a bit out of place? My friend and I walked along the path with burials and crosses flanking us on all sides. The design is a cross with the chapel in the middle. There were just so many it was hard to take it all in. These men and boys sacrificed all for our freedoms – the freedom we often take for granted.

The crosses are meticulously maintained and placed.  Unlike the Canadian cemetery, the markers stated only the soldier’s name, division and date of death. There are also grave markers for four women. Three from the Women’s Army Corp “Six Triple Eight” , the first all-female, African-American battalion working in the Central Postal Directory died in a Jeep crash, and one Red Cross volunteer who died in a plane crash. There are also four civilians buried here but I didn’t see those during my visit to know how their markers were different, if at all. No age, no personal statement or additional landscaping of flowers, etc.  At the time, the U.S. only recognized three religions – Protestant, Catholic and Jewish.  It’s all very somber.

As we reached the middle of the burials, we entered the small chapel with dome ceiling.  The ceiling mosaic art is powerful depicting both American and French figures.

Once we left the chapel, we continued down another path toward the view of the beach down below. It’s hard to imagine landing on the beach and fighting the bullets from way up here.  The movie “Saving Private Ryan” is still vivid in many of our minds and yet it didn’t indicate how high the climb up from the beach was in my opinion.  Having been on the beach and now up above it, it again was hard to imagine any soldier advancing in the dark with a heavy pack and gun.

Our visit didn’t allow time to visit the Battle Museum on the grounds which has military equipment and other displays.

Final Thoughts – Private Tour Normandy

Having the opportunity to visit two cemeteries in Normandy – the Canadian and American – was a reminder how the worlds’ allies have come together to fight for freedom and the institutions and resolutions that came from that.  In the world of divisiveness today, our wars are with words and ideology and the weapons are guns, social media and on the ground conflicts.  I want to think that the past can be put to rest, that the sacrifices of so many on those beaches in France and around the world can be revered and remembered to avoid it happening again. At the end of the day, in my mind, the people around the world in different cultures want the same things – to live good lives, work jobs that support/provide for their families and be happy and healthy.  The men and women of WWII in Normandy (and elsewhere) lost their future so that we can have ours. We need to honor their sacrifices not only on the 75^th anniversary but everyday.