Liberation Tour 2024: Day 3 - being sobered

 Today was jam-packed, so it’s taking a little while to sift through where we were and what we did. We started the day with visits to Juno Beach and Normandy American Cemetery and finished at the Calvados distillery. A wide variety, ’tis true.

How was the day? Well, it rained. Then it didn’t. Then it did. Then it didn’t. And of course, my umbrella was hanging, safe and dry, on the door handle in my hotel room.

Now, let’s just work our way down the itinerary.

We actually started with a promotion. Jerry Meyer, our tour host, promoted Birgitta, our tour guide, to a four-star general. That was fun and a surprise for her.

A giant Lorraine cross overlooks one section of Juno Beach.

As I said, our first stop was Juno Beach, one of the five beaches used in the D-Day invastion. Juno was the Canadians’ stronghold, and they paid just as dearly as American and England. A Lorraine cross stands guard over the beach, flanked by national flags. The German pillboxes there are tilted and damaged, testaments both to the heavy fighting that went on June 6, 1944, and the ravages of time.

The next stop was Arromanches, part of Gold Beach (British), where you can see the mulberries. Why is seeing fruit such a big deal? Well, first off, they’re not fruit. They are parts of a temporary protective wall the British built to form a small bay where they could offload men and equipment in relative safety. When it’s low tide, you have a really good view of them out in the harbor. It’s really an ingenious idea and, for a temporary structure, hasn’t exactly been temporary.

One of the neatest things at Arromanches in an art installation from the 75th anniversary of D-Day. I might have written about it before because it struck me so forcefully. The piece begins with a statue of 97-year-old Bill Pendell, a veteran of World War II, gazing off into the distance at images of his 22-year-old self, according to the installation plaque. Each of the four scenes is something Pendell experienced and now lives on in his memory. I don’t know why tihs particular installation grips me so hard. Maybe it’s the idea that, with time, this soldier’s memories are fading. The men he served with who died and still live in his memory are fading, too. I don’t know. Sometimes things just resonate with you for some reason.

Just up the road is the site of a German battery, still in pretty good shape. The first pillbox is pretty beat up, but the others are not. You can go in and walk around the guns that are still there. Brigitta said they’re like new because they were only used for about 24 hours. Once the assault passed them, they were not needed.

Next came Normandy American Cemetery. With over 9,000 men buried there, it’s impressive, humbling and sad, all at the same time. Impressive because every row, column and diagonal is perfectly aligned. I can’t imagine the time that took to do. No matter which direction you look, there is no deviation. Humbling because most of those young men chose to serve. They left home at age 19, 20, 21, to go to a country they may have just read about to fight another country they may have just read about. They weren’t even defending their own country.

I got to walk along the path above Omaha Beach, which I didn’t get to do on my last visit. Looking out over that American landing zone, again imagining the noise, smells, tastes and sights of D-Day. I really can’t. I have no point of comparison. The closest I could come is the M80s that are fired off on the Fourth of July, and those probably aren’t even close to the mortars and cannons firing.

I walked through the Memorial to the Missing and found Ralph Croston again. Because Croston is not a common name, he’s likely related somehow. I always look for my name at places like that, just in case. I never really expect to see it, so when I came across this name, I’m sure I did a double or even a triple take.

We were joined today by Major Gen. Craig Strong of the Nebraska National Guard (left). He and his family spent the day with our group - we hope you had an enjoyable day!

After laying a wreath in honor of our dead, our group split up to visit the graves of all the Nebraska National Guard members buried there. Each grave is sanded, which means sand is rubbed into the lettering to make it stand out more. The sand comes from Omaha Beach, which is fitting, especially for the thousands who didn't make it any farther.

Another quick stop at the Operation Overlord Museum just down the road let us take pictures of tanks. If we wanted to.

After lunch, we went to Omaha Beach where Les Braves (The Brave) is. This sculpture was done for the 60th anniversary of D-Day in 2004. The art includes three pieces – Wings of Hope, Rise Freedom! and The Wings of Fraternity. A little further down the beach is the National Guard Memorial, a must-see on this tour.

"Ever Forward," the National Guard Memorial at Omaha Beach, depicts a soldier dragging a wounded comrade, presumably out of harm's way.

Then it was on to Pointe du Hoc, the landing point for the Army Rangers. These men had to climb up a sheer cliff, at the top of which were Germans waiting to kill them. That didn’t stop them. They came up anyway. In a video at the visitors center, some described the day and the frustration of not finding the gun emplacements that were supposed to be there. The Germans had made fake guns that looked real on the aerial surveillance. The quote on the wall in the video room is from a Ruggiero, which is my brother-in-law’s name. Again, finding a name that’s connected to me led to a second look.

I'm wondering if this might be one of the fake gun emplacements the Rangers found when they reached the top of Pointe du Hoc.

The park is not as extensive today as it was two years ago when we came. Then we could go all the way out to the Ranger Memorial and climb in a couple of the gun emplacements. Because of the danger of landslides, according to the signs, those have been closed. It’s too bad. Seeing the sheer cliff these young men had to climb brings home their experience.

We finished with a stop of the Billy Farm for a wine and cheese tasting featuring Calvados, the alcohol distilled in the area. We got to see one of the cellars where they store the barrels as the drink ages and visited the family chapel. I can’t imagine having a family chapel. That would be extremely cool and pretentious. But cool. Not being a drinker, however, I didn't try the local concoction.

Then it was back to the hotel to unwind, relax and recover.

Tomorrow’s agenda includes Mortain and Brittany American Cemetery.