Today was the first real day of the Liberation Tour 2024, with three stops on our itinerary. We started with a drive to Utah Beach, one of the five beaches used in the D-Day invasion. The others are Omaha (which we’ll see tomorrow), June, Gold and Sword.
Where my last visit to Utah Beach was on a beautiful morning with the sun shining on gentle waves, today was a lot wetter. The rain started as we approached the beach, and it didn’t stop. Oh well. The motto of the 134th is “all hell can’t stop us,” so we didn’t let a little rain keep us down. We stopped at the Higgins Memorial (yes, that Andrew J. Higgins who built the Higgins boats and who happens to be from Nebraska) and then headed to the beach itself.
Even in the rain, thinking about what those young men who arrived on June 6, 1944, and charged across the sand (which is not easy even when the sand is dry) went through that morning is sobering. How many thousands never even set foot on the beach, instead drowning when they fell in the water loaded down with all their equipment. How many thousands more didn’t take more than a dozen steps on the sand before being felled by sniper fire or mortar rounds.
We see the beach when it’s quiet and peaceful. Horses and their cart drivers use the beach for practice (we saw a couple this morning). The waves roll in and out at their appointed times, and time almost stops in such a calm setting. That morning, though, must have been hell. With the booms of mortars and cannons, the roars of transport engines (including Higgins boats), the screams of injured and dying soldiers, the shouts of officers trying to get their men organized while trying not to get shot - it was the opposite of quiet and peaceful.
Also at Utah Beach is the first marker on Voie de la Liberte (Victory Way). The way goes through St. Lo, which is one of our highlight stops a little later on the tour.
After a quick picture at the Dick Winters Memorial, we headed on to Sainte Mere Eglise. One thing to remember about this little town is that it was one of the places into which the Allied paratroopers jumped on D-Day. One of them, John Steele, got caught on the spire of the town cathedral and hung there all night, playing dead so the German soldiers wouldn’t shoot him. The church bells tolled the hours, and Steele ended up deaf because of that.
The cathedral in SME includes one of the more interesting stained glass windows you’ll see in a church. This one honors the paratroopers and includes parachutes throughout the design. I didn’t stop to count them all, but I did take a picture so you can see what I’m talking about.
The town is also home to the Airborne Museum, which has upgraded since I was here two years ago. They’ve improved their exhibits, especially the glider, and it’s pretty impressive. The complex is now five buildings filled with more information than a person can read in one visit. One building includes a variety of parachutes and information about some of the paratroopers.
Another quick stop found us at the memorial for the battle of La Fiere. This site includes a statue honoring “Iron Mike,” the man in every group who urges his comrades forward. It overlooks a little river that was strategically important. The Germans, who had flooded the lowlands in the area, held the bridge, which was the only way to cross the river.
We also stopped at La Cambe, a German cemetery. It’s a quiet place where the young German soldiers lie, many of them barely out of boyhood. As Brigitta said, it’s not a place to honor the Nazi system and way of thinking. It’s a place to honor those young men who did the same thing the Americans and British and French and every other nationality did – left home to serve their country and paid the ultimate price.
Our third stop was the town of Bayeux. We had two choices - the cathedral or the tapestry. Last time I booked it through both. This time I took my time in the cathedral, pretending I could read all the French signs and once again being awed by the craftsmanship that went into these grand buildings. It just blows my mind when I think that all the stonework was done by hand, even the spires and carvings that are so high up no one can see them. The pride each stonecarver must have taken in his work! The cathedrals in France were usually targets for the bombers because they’re not small. They loom over the landscape all over the country. Many were hit and some destroyed during World War I and II. Townspeople have come together to restore some of them, however, which tells you how important a church is in a town. One of the cool things (if things can be cool in a church) at Bayeux is that its crypt is open and you can go down to see it. Of course it’s dark and cool because it’s a crypt, but how often do you get to see things like that?
We had a free evening this evening in Caen, so most of us ended up at a cafe called Boeuf and Cow (Cow and Cow for those who don’t speak French). While the name is a little, well, redundant, the food was good.
Tomorrow we begin our visits to the soldiers of the 134th who still rest in France. We’ll be at Normandy Cemetery, then stop at Point du Hoc and the Billy Farm where those who want to can try the calvados.
I remember Calvados!🤪
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