Normandy!

Day 4

Normandy (Post by Rob!)

We started this day when we hired a private tour guide to take us on a tour of the beaches, as well as to some of the famous spots from "Band of Brothers," the HBO miniseries, and true story of the 101st Airborne division. It was a wonderful experience to visit so many of the sites where the most famous battles and sections of the war were fought. The beaches were extremely touching to see, as were the grave markers. The beaches were very windy and cold. I could only imagine adding 40 pounds of gear, being soaked head to toe, being sea sick and exhausted, all the while dodging bullets on D-Day. We were able to visit many of the exact same locations where famous photographs were taken. We stopped and took some in the same spots as well. All in all, it was a very emotionally draining day, but worth every dime spent, and every step walked. What a surreal place to visit.

We also visited a church that day where two soldiers were recognized as heroes. The morning of D-Day two medics parachuted into a small village, about 40 people, named Angoville Au Plain. There, they saved over 80 lives including German and American soldiers. They even saved the lives of some of the local villagers who had been shot and injured during the invasion. In 1999, one of the medics returned to Europe where he found that exact church that he operated in on D-Day. The patrons of the church recognized him 55 years later having never seen a photograph of him or keeping in contact with him at all. The two medics were revered as heroes in this village. The medic couldn't believe that he was recognized but knew he was in the right place as he remembered the blood stains on the pews (still visible today), as well as the mortar round that had fallen through the ceiling and damaged a floor tile but never exploded (still visible today). He even met one of the villagers who he had saved in 1944, who at the time was a 12 year old boy! It was very emotional to stand in the church still used by this little town, to see the blood on the pews, see the new stain glass windows dedicating the church to the two medics. It was a very wonderful thing to see and be a part of. Without the tour guide that we had, we would have never seen it, let alone ever heard about it. We owe that wonderful visit all to Olivier, our tour guide.

Us at Omaha Beach

Omaha

Omaha

Omaha

Omaha

Map of D-Day

American Soldier Cemetery

From the cemetery over looking Omaha Beach. This was the steep climb that the soldiers had to go through while being destroyed by enemy gun fire.

Artillery gun firing at Omaha Beach.

Can you imagine how loud it would have been in here?!

In one of over 3,000 bomb craters at Pointe du Hoc which are everywhere. It's hard to see from the pictures, but many of them were so deep that it would be impossible to get out of without a ladder or a rope!

Grandma found hers!

Crazy!

Statue in Carentan where many medals were given out after D-Day. This was where many of the 101st received their medals for their hard work and sacrifice.

Carentan

Carentan

This was the church where the medics set-up their Aid Station.

Bob Wright and Kenneth Moore, the medics.

Blood stained church pews.

Some of the stained glass in honor of the medics

This was the Headquarters for the 101st Airborne for a while after D-Day.

This was the famous church in Sainte Mere-Eglise where a paratroopers parachute was caught on the steeple of the church and was unable to cut himself down. He was up there hanging for hours as the Germans thought he was dead. He was trying to get himself down when they realized that he was still alive, cut him down, and took him prisoner. Today they have a bronze statue and parachute hanging in his honor.

Bullet Holes in the iron fence still visible today in the city of Sainte Mere-Eglise.

This was the crash site of Lt. Meehan's plane and group of soldiers who were shot down during the invasion on D-Day. This crash put Lt. Winters in charge of Easy Company.

Our tour guide Olivier.

This is Rob holding a picture in front of the exact place where the picture he is holding was taken. Crazy! Notice the door and window to the right in the top picture?

Memorial outside Bretcourt Manor. This was the place where Lt. Winters and a group of men assaulted a German gun emplacement. This was a very special place to see.

Danee and G-ma playing with the horse in the stall next to Brecourt Manor.

Rob looking at the ditches where the 101st Airborne crawled through to attack the German gun positions at Brecourt Manor.

A real life sheep dog at Brecourt Manor.

Our tour guide showing exact photos, spots, and stories from the assault on the German guns.

The beautiful scenic road to Brecourt Manor.

The weather here was cold and windy as well, but the sand was so different! It was white and very powdery. It was a very different beach compared to Omaha. On D-Day, this beach had almost no resistance at all.

Utah Beach

Some of the Normandy Barriers, and Barbed-Wire still at Utah Beach.

The Utah Beach museum with a Higgins Boat on display.