The Beaches of Normandy

Pics:
1- From Museum
2- Memorial Stature from cemetery
3- Star of David tombstone amidst others
4- Tombstone with Omaha Beach in background
5- Omaha Beach
6- Crater at Ponte Du Hoc
7- German Bunker at Ponte Du Hoc
8- Utah Beach
9- American Flag at cemetery

Hey guys. Sorry for the delay...jesus christ. I love you guys and today was a good day. Thanks for all the comments. *Just to clarify 1st comment honors* It is only legitimate if you READ the damn post first. Emily is awarded last post honors but no more "Tee hee....now I gotta read it." Thanks for the comments. Evan, man it was a nail biter and I'm happy with the split, Don, I am having a blast and thanks for the comment, Tiff, thanks chattin on Skype...you're a doll, Karly, thanks for keepin' up...We need to go fishin' soon, Alex, sorry for the delay in posting....I will try to update you as much as possible, maybe I should mix in a "Ate breakfast, ran, and guitar" post, Ian, HOW DO I REEEECH THEEESE KEEEEDS?, Emily, I support you even though it is no big surprise you get no love...You're a Lewis for fucks sake, Dad, thanks for the Berlitz tapes and I will fill you in when I can say "There is a fox in the middle of town" in French, Mom, thanks for the package and the apple butter, it is enjoyed by all. I assure everyone that I am not throwing a ball until 100% healthy. Now on to today....

I went to the beaches of Normandy today with Chris and his family. Chris and I immediatly brought up the lines from "Stand By Me" when Corey Haim, whatever 'Corey' it was, was yelling that his dad stormed the beaches of Normandy. I boned up on history the night before so I could get a fuller appreciation of what I was going to see the next day. To fill some of the less educated about the Invasion of the Normandy Beaches, here is a quick history overview.

There are 5 beaches that the Allied forces invaded on the coast of Northwest France. 'Operation Overlord' involved the invasion and the hopefull tearing down of the German 'Atlantic Wall' that spanned from Cherbourg all the way to the eastern part of Caen, France. There were 156,000 allies that were involved in the invasion. 6,900 vessels by water carried allied troups to the designated beaches. The beaches are Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. American troups had the toughest assignment of Utah and Omaha. On the first day of invasion there was over 3,000 casualties (mostly American) out of the overall 10,216 deaths. I visited the American Cemetery as well as the beaches of Utah and Omaha.

This is one site in Northern France that I was eager to see. So we got up early and headed for the coast. I will also have you know that today, May 8, marks the end of the World War II in 1945. I saw the French Presidential motorcade on the way to Caen. The French President, Sarcosi, was making a speech on one of the beaches. So that was pretty cool. Our first destination was the American Cemetery. This place was absolutely beautiful. The whole area is beautiful. I love the fact that the site is really hard to get to. Not touristic in the slightest. You have to take winding farm roads to get the beaches. It seemed right that this is how it was. It kept things more genuine. Once you wind in and out of towns...the beaches just open up to you. I kept reminding myself as I would look out into the sea that this is where D-Day went down. I was trying to put myself in German shoes looking out into sea and see a massive front heading my way. There are not many times, lately, that I am proud to say that I am American. But today I was.

I was proud to be who I was.

Even though I absolutely had no hand in that fateful day's events, but it felt good to have my feet on American soil. We went into the main cemetery's museum and read/saw some info. on D-Day. It was really sad to see that there were kids younger than me that had a rifle in their hands and surging onto the French coast that day. After the museum, we made our way into the cemetery.

This place was immaculate. There was precision everywhere. The statues, tombstones, and grass was just perfect. It was overwhelming to have all the tombstones in my view. It was just really sad and relaxing at the same time. I got the best pics I could but they do not show you the vastness of the area. After the cemetery, we made our way to the beaches.

We drove down on to the beach and I just tried to take everything in. I said to Chris that is was kinda weird that there were people on the beach playing around like nothing had happened. I don't think I would be comfortable tanning on a spot where that much blood has been shed. I am not meaning to be humorous at all, I mean honestly...

After we drove across the coast we made our way to Ponte Du Hoc. Ponte Du Hoc is where Ranger divisions of the American Army took out vital guns of the Nazi force. At this point on a cliff top, the Germans stationed huge guns that could fire down upon the Utah and Omaha beaches. With thousands of casualties, the Ranger troupe finally conquered this spot. Also at this point, were tons of German bunkers. You could actually walk in and out of these bunkers, looking out onto the sea where they had their guns sitting. Just unreal. I couldn't believe I was in Nazi bunker. Another characteristic of this area was the fact that there where hundreds of craters created by Allied Airborne fire. It was like walking around a relic war field. I got some pics of both beaches at this view. I didn't get my signature footprint pic...didn't feel right at the time. If I go back, I might get it...maybe not...I didn't feel the desire to try to take something away from this place. It was absolutely beautiful out but my mood was meloncholy. I don't look at this beautiful place as a place of delight and joy....I more took the vantage point of tranquility and awe. I will say again that it was just a feeling of speechlessness.

We went back home so I could conduct softball practice and that was my day today. I will talk to you soon and hopefully the pics can put you in my shoes. Love you guys, Au revoir.