Steve has had Normandie on his bucket list for some time, so we set aside a day and arranged a guided tour. He reports: "It was da bomb!" Dad-joke game is strong.
Knowing it would be a long day of train travel and tight timelines, we thought we'd start out with a full breakfast. Easier said than done... We popped into a cafe near the Metro station and tried to order a breakfast. The owner pointed to a different section and then to the larger section and said "À neuf heurs" which I understood to be until 9 o'clock... since it was 8:40, I was confused and tried to order again... I'm actually understanding much more than I thought I would, but it takes a while--à is at; jusqu'à is until... so after trying being redirected again, I got it... we thought we'd just have coffee and wait 20 minutes, but ordering coffee got us the traditional French breakfast of a coffee, juice, tartine (bread with jam), and croissant. Now I like my bread and carbs, but--seriously--protein is really underrated here! So after our breakfast of bread and pastry, we headed to the train via Metro. In typical Sparks planning we were way early, but there was a McDonald's where we ordered a good old Egg McMuffin for a bit of protein. All the way to Paris to eat at McDonald's! At least we knew what we were getting.
It's about a two hour train north to Bayeux, near Normandie, and it was nice to just sit and relax.
We had a short walk to our tour meeting spot. The first thing I saw in Bayeux was la poste--on a bicycle! Now why hasn't someone in Portland thought of this? I next spotted cathedral spires and learned later that it's a 12-century cathedral. Sadly, we didn't have time to visit it. But Steve did have time to limber up.
We met our guide Maggie along with three other people for our D-Day tour; what an unimaginable event. According to Maggie, the French in the region are grateful for the American presence in the war, even today, and the memorials they maintain are incedibly moving.
We started out at Pointe du Hoc, the highest point along the coast between Utah Beach and Omaha Beach, all occupied by German soldiers in WWII. Massive bomb craters and bunkers remain. This is the spot the 2nd Ranger Company scaled the 30-foot cliff in driving rain and wild waves, all while being shot at by German soldiers from above. They ultimately took control but at great loss of life here and at the beaches. Standing in the damaged bunker, looking out to sea at the rusted barbed wire cut by the American soldiers who successfully invaded was eerie.
We traveled next to the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial (Cimetière Américain de Normandie), arriving in time for the lowering of the flags and Taps. Chills.
The cemetery and memorial are incredibly well-maintained and respected. The holly oaks lining the walkways are hand-trimmed, the grasses are perfectly mown, and the crosses and the few Stars of David are gleaming. There is a wall of names of missing men, some marked with a rosette when recovered and buried. The most recent burial was in 2022.
My step-grandfather, Judy's dad, W.D. Johnson, arrived at Omaha Beach three days after D-Day. We found the plan and his unit, Third Army, and saw the advance and his landing.
The graves are laid out on two sides, the majority lost at Omaha Beach overlooking the sea.
Finally we visited Omaha Beach, the biggest tragedy of D-Day. Today the beach is peaceful and serene, but history hangs heavy in the air.
After a moving but sobering day, we made our way back to Paris, in search of protein, hopefully!
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Thank you!
I got chills just looking at your photos. Impossible to image what those guys must have felt as they unloaded from the boats.
So moving.
Very moving! So happy you found Daddy's unit and what they did! Thanks so much!
Unbelievably moving! We dug out our photos and we have some of the very same ones. We remember how moving it was to walk on the beach and try to imagine what it must have been like for the soldiers who landed there. Very moving, again.