I guess I will finish blogging about our trip. I was unable to blog about the last of our trip as we did not have internet access. After our unfortunate day with not being able to get our rental car, we took the train up to Normandy. We had to cancel our reservations at our other hotel because it was too far from the train station and we had no way to get to the town, but Aaron made reservations in another town where the train dropped us off. Right after we arrived in Bayeux, which is on the Normandy Coast, we had lunch at a little cafe and signed up to take a tour of the Normandy beaches, a war museum and other WWII sites, including the American Cemetery. This was such an amazing experience. It was incredible. When we went to Pointe Du Hoc, which was a German stronghold and was considered to be unassailable by the enemy, it was so unbelievable. The stronghold is located on top of the cliffs where you can wander among large deep craters where the Allies had dropped bombs prior to the invasion, and many of the German bunkers had been bombed in and just left and you could still see so much evidence of all the destruction that occurred there. This is the only area along the coast where you can still see the bomb craters because the French farmers reclaimed their land after the invasion and filled in holes in thier fields. I learned that this part of the invasion started out with 225 American soldiers, and their mission was to scale the cliffs, get in the bunkers and destroy their weapons and cannons. Only they got to the top and the German weapons had been moved and were not there. How discouraging for them! But they risked their lives and went further in and found the guns and were able to destroy them. Unfortunately, this made them lose the element of surprise, and these soldiers spent the next two days fighting off the Germans as best as they could until help arrived two days later. After help came from the others who stormed the beaches, only 90 soldiers remained uninjured.
Aaron and one of the German bunkers.
These next pictures are of the American Cemetery and Memorial there at Normandy.
This was such a special place. It was truly a moving experience. It was amazing the sacrifices that these troops gave, all for the freedom of another country and another people, simply because freedom is so important. I can't remember the exact number, but over 20,000 American soldiers lost their lives in Normandy and over 10,000 were missing. Another thing I learned while I was there: This cemetery and memorial is on American soil. This land was given to America by France. I did not know this.
Me on the beaches of Normandy.
Anyways, if you ever go to France, I think Normandy shouldn't be missed!
Aaron and one of the German bunkers.
These next pictures are of the American Cemetery and Memorial there at Normandy.
This was such a special place. It was truly a moving experience. It was amazing the sacrifices that these troops gave, all for the freedom of another country and another people, simply because freedom is so important. I can't remember the exact number, but over 20,000 American soldiers lost their lives in Normandy and over 10,000 were missing. Another thing I learned while I was there: This cemetery and memorial is on American soil. This land was given to America by France. I did not know this.
Me on the beaches of Normandy.Anyways, if you ever go to France, I think Normandy shouldn't be missed!
1 comment:
I think it is so neat that there is an American Cemetary and memorial there. I imagine it had the same kind of feeling there as there was at the Vietnam and Korean War Memorials. Very touching and heartbreaking, but how very thankful I am for those brave soldiers and their families.
Post a Comment