There’s a graveyard in northern France where all the dead boys from D-Day are buried. The white crosses reach from one horizon to the other. I remember looking it over and thinking it was a forest of graves. But the rows were like this, dizzying, diagonal, perfectly straight, so after all it wasn’t a forest but an orchard of graves. Nothing to do with nature, unless you count human nature.
– Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist

On our way to our first tour stop, we encountered a cow crossing, outside of Bayeux, Normandy, France.

We got up early in the morning for our personal tour of Normandy, particularly Gold Beach (the D-Day Museum at Arromanches), Longues-Sur-Mer (the German fortifications from the Atlantic Wall), Omaha Beach (including a visit of the Military Cemetery Memorial and the Landing Beach), and Pointe du Hoc (the Ranger’s Memorial and the cliffs they had to scale). The tour was all morning. In the afternoon, we were on our own, so we added Utah Beach D-Day Museum in the town of Sainte Marie du Mont and went back to Omaha Beach to explore further. There was so much to see and so much information to let wash over us, we decided to go back to the Military Cemetery’s Visitor’s Center, since we didn’t go there in the morning, and the Overlord Museum, on our way out of Bayeux to our next destination.

The cliffs along the Utah and Omaha Beaches.

Another view of the cliffs near Omaha Beach.

It is difficult to put into words what we experienced. I’d seen the WWII movies and thought it would be an interesting history lesson, but the more details and depth we absorbed from what happened in Normandy during WWII, I grew to appreciate just what was at stake here – life, liberty, freedom – and what was sacrificed. I was so moved by my experience in Normandy. As David said when we were watching the 4^th of July fireworks at the Oakland A’s game the day before July 4^th and listening to the patriotic songs, he felt a depth of gratitude that he’d not fully appreciated before. I felt the same way.

The barbed wire that the Germans ran along the bluff still remains.

We were led by our guide, Antoine, who was a nice but serious fellow. Our first stop was Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument, situated on a bluff overlooking the beaches. The Germans heavily fortified this area along the Utah and Omaha beaches. Interestingly, the cliffs are so steep that the Germans were not expecting the Allied forces to scale the cliffs, and so, they turned their guns in the opposite direction for an inland attack. The U.S. Army Rangers had other ideas. The 225 hand-picked rangers scaled the cliffs with the task of disabling the German gun battery, a move that was necessary in order for the landing of Allied forces on the beaches to be successful. Only 90 survived. Ponte du Hoc is full of eroded bunkers and craters created by 10 kilotons of bombs that were dropped within a span of seven weeks. We stood at the top of the bluff and looked in awe at the cliffs that the Rangers scaled. Amazing. The German gun battery included more than a mile of tunnels connecting its battlements. It held six 155mm guns that were capable of firing as far away as 13 miles, reaching both Omaha and Utah beaches. Despite the heavy bombing, which commenced in April 1944 until June 6^th, the bunkers survived.

A bombed-out gun battery, Pointe du Hoc.

A viewing platform above one of the bunkers, Pointe du Hoc.

Inside a bombed-out bunker, Pointe du Hoc.

Plaque in one of the bunkers honoring the U.S. Rangers who gave their lives to the cause, Pointe du Hoc.

Antoine provides background as we walk the path to the Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument, near Omaha Beach.

The Dagger Memorial represents the Dagger the Rangers used to get them up the cliffs. We walked in and out of the observation bunker, which housed the officers and enlisted soldiers’ quarters, and command room. The Rangers only had 30 minutes to get off the beach because of the rising tide. Upon reaching the bluff, they discovered that the Germans had moved and hidden the guns a half-mile inland, but the Rangers eventually found the guns and destroyed them.

The Dagger Memorial, Pointe du Hoc.

There were many informational panels along the walkway of the Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument. Here is one: “Sacrifice: The Price of Freedom: Of the 350,000 Allied personnel who took part in the D-Day invasion, including 156,000 troops who landed on Normandy’s beaches, approximately 9,000 were casualties on June 6. By the end of the campaign for Normandy, the Allies suffered more than 200,000 casualties, including over 50,000 killed.” On the French side, “more than 90,000 French soldiers died defending France in 1939-40. Another 58,000 soldiers and approximately 20,000 members of the French Resistance died fighting alongside the Allies from 1940 through 1945. The famed French 2^nd Armored Division came ashore on nearby Utah Beach and suffered more than 1,000 casualties spearheading the Allied drive into Paris. Although thousands of French civilians died during the Normandy fighting, the population continued to welcome and assist Allied troops.”

More barbed wire and treacherous cliffs, Pointe du Hoc.

Next we visited Omaha Beach. My touchstone was the film Saving Private Ryan. Standing there, where people were peacefully walking on the beach or frolicking in the water, I couldn’t comprehend what had happened here that day June 6, 1944. It’s unfathomable. Nearly half of all D-Day casualties occurred at Omaha Beach, which was nicknamed “Bloody Omaha.” We saw the metal memorial, entitled Le Braves, which was sculpted by the Parisian artist, Anilore Banon, and erected for the 60^th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings. The sculpture honors the liberators, symbolizing “the rise of freedom on the wings of hope.” The sculpture was only to be displayed temporarily, but supporters rallied to keep it still standing, and so it still stands.

The Braves, 2004, the metal statue at the center of Omaha Beach.

Family portrait with The Braves, Omaha Beach.

Eight nations’ flags fly here, representing the countries who took part in the invasion, though only two American assault units landed in Omaha Beach, namely the 1^st Infantry Division and the 29^th Infantry Division (a National Guard citizen army unit with, understandably so, little combat experience). The mission was ill-fated for these men. Despite heavy Allied bombing before the invasion, the heavily armed Germans surrounded the four-mile-long beach above the cliffs on three sides. The 500 German soldiers and their 1 gun nests picked off the American soldiers as they disembarked the landing ships. The troops kept coming, and by the end of the day, 34,000 soldiers had landed. The Germans were eventually pushed inland. Still, it was not without great sacrifices, which were not lost on us as we stood surveying the beach.

Paragliders over Omaha Beach makes for a surreal scene.

Two bronze soldiers, commemorating the Bedford Boys. The small town of Bedford, Virginia, sent 35 men to the landing forces. Of the 35 men, 19 were killed.

Next, we visited the WWII Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. As we approached the green grass and the rows of white crosses, I kept thinking of Saving Private Ryan, my only touchpoint for this place. How moving was standing at the edge of the grass and surveying the lines of marble tombstones – 9,386 of them. Overlooking the cemetery is a memorial with a pool and a rising statue representing the spirit of American youth. The statue is surrounded on either side by two walls depicting two enormous reliefs of the Battle of Normandy and the Battle of Europe. Behind the that memorial is the semicircular Garden of the Missing, which includes the names of 1,557 soldiers who died but whose remains were never recovered. Among the soldiers buried here are the Niland brothers, who inspired Saving Private Ryan. Other facts: Among those buried, 33 pairs are brothers lying next to one another, a father and son, 149 African Americans, 149 Jewish Americans, and four women.

The line of white, marble tombstones is a sobering sight at the WWII Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.

A close-up of the tombstones, WWII Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.

Another view of the crosses. I was mesmerized by them. WWII Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.

The reflecting pool and Memorial from a distance, WWII Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.

One wall of the Memorial depicts the Battle of Europe.

The other wall of the Memorial depicts the Battle of Normandy.

On the other side of the Memorial is the semicircular Garden of the Missing.

A close-up of the wall with the names of the soldiers whose bodies were never found.

One last look at the tombstones as they gleam and recede in the background.

The last stop of the tour, within the town of Arromanches, was Gold Beach, where the British troops landed. What’s fascinating here is that the Allies built their own port rather than try to seize a German port. In an engineering feat, within 12 days – in the midst of battle – the Allies built Port Winston, which served as the base in Normandy that aided in the liberation of France, the push to Berlin, and the end of WWII. We visited the D-Day Landing Museum (Musée du Débarquement) in Arromanches and saw dioramas, models, photographs, and videos of how the artificial harbor was built. Pretty remarkable.

Musée du Débarquement, Gold Beach.

Remnants of the man-made harbor at Gold Beach.

Eight country flags flying over Gold Beach.

That concluded our private tour. After lunch in Bayeux, we plotted our free afternoon. We hopped into our rental car and took off for other sites and returned to Omaha Beach. Along the way, we stopped for photos of the beautiful countryside.

My fascination of bales of hay in the Italian countryside carried over to France.

Queen Anne’s lace grows wild along the roadside. We ended up getting a decorative pillowcase with this beautiful flower.

Artsy photo of bales of hay with fence post and grains in the foreground, Normandy, France.

Bales of hay with French road sign, Normandy.

Stopping by an old cemetery to take photographs, Normandy.

Close-up of three tombstones in an old cemetery, Normandy.

Next stop was to the town of Saint Marie du Mont, specifically Utah Beach, a campaign that Eisenhower added late in the game. Two U.S. paratrooper units, the 82^nd and the 101^st Airborne Divisions, parachuted behind enemy lines the night before D-Day. Unfortunately, many landed off-target. The Germans had flooded the farmlands in the area to make a push up the peninsula to the port city of Cherbourg difficult. Tragically, many paratroopers landed in the swamps and drowned. In fact, more than 1,000 paratroopers sacrificed their lives in order to clear the way for the actual beach landing. Still, Utah Beach was overtaken within 45 minutes, with 194 American soldiers perishing, thanks to the fact that the beach was defended by conscripted Czechs, Poles, and Russians who had no skin in the game. It took three weeks, however, before the troops overtook Cherbourg.

The Germans scattered Czech hedgehogs on the beaches to keep landing crafts and tanks from penetrating the German line of defense. The hedgehogs are scattered around the Utah Beach museum.

The Utah Beach Landing Museum (Musée du Débarquement).

There are a lot of museums on D-Day scattered throughout Normandy, but the most memorable museum for me was the Utah Beach Landing Museum (Musée du Débarquement) because it highlighted the human element, the faces of the French townspeople and American soldiers, and their stories. Indeed, in 1962, Michel de Vallavieille, the mayor of Saint Marie du Mont, began his campaign to build the Utah Beach D-Day Museum as “a living expression of the town’s appreciation and gratitude for the Allies’ sacrifices.” Vallavieille, a boy during WWII, was injured by Allied bombs on his family’s farm, but he held no ill will, understanding that the bombing was necessary to liberate France and bring an end to WWII. The museum includes many panels of American soldiers and French residents sharing their stories of D-Day and their mutual support and friendship.

A statue of soldiers disembarking from their Higgins landing craft outside of the Utah Beach Landing Museum.

Inside the Utah Beach Landing Museum, a wooden Higgins landing craft.

The museum underwent two major extensions. Its third major extension includes a fascinating story stemming from a visit by two American brothers on June 6, 2007: “With an interest in the Second World War, David and Gene Dewhurst visit the Utah Beach D-Day Museum on a family trip. In an exhibit, they recognize a photo of their father, Major David Dewhurst, posing at the foot of his B-26 Marauder with his crew and learn that he was a decorated squadron commander, who courageously led the final bombing run on the German stronghold WN5, moments before the Allied landing at Utah Beach. The two brothers are stunned by their discovery, as their father, Major David Dewhurst, had died when they were very young, and they knew very little about him. Inspired by their visit, the brothers decide to spearhead the major renovation and expansion project that had been under review for several years. They go on to finance over a third of this ambitious project.” Four years later, in 2011, the museum reopened with 23,000-square feet of gallery space. This is an amazing museum – the best of the lot. The images stayed with me long after we left.

The B26-Martin Marauder “Dinah Might” was the U.S. Army’s high-speed medium bomber. Major David Dewhurst was the commanding officer of the squadron assigned to drop bombs on Utah Beach.

You are now entering Utah Beach.

Picking up shells for Isabella along Utah Beach.

The tide is out at Utah Beach. It’s difficult to imagine what happened here 74 years ago.

There was so much to see in one day. We breezed through some of it in order to see as much as we could. We could have stayed an extra day and it still would not have been enough to see everything. We didn’t even make it to two other beaches, Juno and Sword, which were fought by Canadian, and British and Canadian troops, respectively, let alone Dunkirk, which is farther up north. I told Jacob he’d have to return. And so must we.

At the end of the long pier at Omaha Beach, Jacob and Isabella stare out into the English Channel.