Omaha beach, St. Mere Eglise and WWII remembered

We had about a day to spend on the WWII sites in Normandy. It was just enough get the full picture, but to actually see everything--to include all the museums would take 2-3 days. Still we saw a lot of country: The coastal batteries at Longues and Point du Hoc, Omaha Beach, St. Mere Eglise, and the American Memorial and Cemetery in St. Laurent. The following day, on our way back to Brussels, we drove through the Bocage country. Rolling hills crisscrossed with ancient mounds, overgrown with trees and undergrowth that denote parcels of land and where a nightmare for US forces as they advanced through South-West Normandy.

All pictures can be viewed from here.
Omaha beach is 6km (about 4 miles) long. We picked a small portion in front of the Colleville draw to visit the beach. This gave use a review of some the German defenses that remain, the monument to the 1st ID "the Big Red One" and was walking distance to American cemetery and memorial.
There was an excellent map detailing the defenses in this Sector. The American military classified this section of the beach as "Easy Red" and part of "Fox Green" sectors.
The cemetery was moving and the American memorial impressive. You have to see it yourself to really know what 10,000 white crosses look like. Perhaps surprising was the number of people that where there who really had a grave to visit. There where several families with 2-3 generations present who had brought flowers and where clearly focused on visiting a particular fallen soldier. I felt a bit of an intruder as I watched two men in there forties--clearly brothers standing over a grave when one of the pulled a handful of soil from his pocket and spread it on the grave. They spent a few more moments then walked away toward the beach. If today was like any other it's profound to think about the impact these events still have and still work to shape who and what we are as a country.
The cemetery was built and designed by the US government in the fashion of memorials that are found in Washington. Wide sidewalks and a liberal use of space. You might have to live in Europe to appreciate this fully, but everything over here is crammed in tight and is designed with an efficiency of space in mind. The architecture, the flag, and the undeniable presence of 10,000 countrymen all conspired to make this felt a bit like home--like a piece of the States uprooted and settled down into the soil of Northern France. I would like to think that it will always be so remembered.

On to Normandy

We stayed in Bayeux at the Liod d' Or Hotel. Great accommodation--I would recommend it. We went right for the tapestry. It was great to see it in person, and you get a good idea for the time and effort that went into it. Seeing it all at once I found the relative few colors used/available to be surprising and the stitches where not quit as close or small as they appear in pictures. Some of the reds where more "red" the others, but all where some version of Brown-Red. For the most part there was great consistency in the color. To our shock and surprise some new scenes from the tapestry have been recently discovered and can be seen here.

For more of this nonsense visit here and to create you own silliness go here. Real pictures of the tapestry are here if you’re interested.

We spent hours driving around the countryside in Normandy with visits to Cain, Falaise and their fortresses. Though we did not know it at the time we stopped and had lunch in the town of Harfleur. This was the city besieged by Henry V just before Agincourt and is included in the Shakespeare tale of the same name. At the time Harfleur was the major shipping port and control point for access to the Seine.

All pictures are here.