Cherbourg, France

Wednesday, April 20th was a very nice day.  We docked in Cherbourg, France.  We hired a taxi to take us to the Normandy beaches and other significant WWII sites.

Our driver.  I think his name was Phillipe.  He didn't have a great grasp of the English language, but he knew where Americans wanted to go.  We were so glad we did it this way rather than on an excursion.  Phillipe was funny.  We would ask him a question, and if he didn't want to answer, he just didn't.  I asked him if he was sick (he obviously was.  He was sniffling and even had a piece of tissue in his nose for part of our ride) and he simply didn't answer.  None of us got sick after, so maybe it was just allergies?

 Sainte Mere Eglise

Our first stop was Sainte Mere Eglise.  This was a little village where a famous incident happened on the day before D Day.  Support troupes parachuted in around the targeted beaches to be there when the troupes stormed the beaches.  One of those was a paratrooper named John Steele.  His parachute caught on the church steeple.  He hung there, playing dead for quite a while before being captured by German soldiers.  He escaped and lived to tell the tale.

A dummy representing John Steele hangs on the steeple.

This is still a beautiful and functioning church.

We took several pictures inside the beautiful church.

This vending machine that was outside was very interesting to me.

Utah Beach

D Day June 6, 1944

Our next stop was Utah Beach.

Utah Beach

A replica of the Higgins boat.  This design allowed soldiers to run right from the boat onto the beach.

President Eisenhower suggested that this boat designed by Higgins,  won the war.

I was overwhelmed with poignant feelings at this site.  How grateful I am for those who gave their lives that I might enjoy the freedoms and blessings that I do.

It was almost startling to see these little chariots pulled by horses out on the beach.  There were a couple of them out there.  It seemed inappropriate to be playing and joy riding on a beach where so much blood was spilt.

Ken and I wanted to actually go down on the beach and put our feet on the sand there.  This is us on Utah Beach.

Memorial to Major Richard D Winters

Driving to our next stop, we noticed this memorial on the side of the highway.  Ken asked the driver to pull over.  We were thrilled to see it was a memorial to Major Richard Winters, the leader of the Band of Brothers.

The French villages and countryside were beautiful.

These beautiful fields of rapseed, from which Canola oil is made, were everywhere.

I have no idea what this guy is.  I asked the driver and he either didn't understand me or didn't know.  But here he is.

Pointe du Hoc

Our driver then took us to Pointe du Hoc.  This was a cliff area on the beach in Normandy where the Germans had bunkers and stored ammunition.  On D Day, rangers stormed the area, climbed the cliffs and attacked and captured this area.

German bunker

The cliffs

The cliffs were steep.  It is a miracle the rangers were able to climb them undetected.

The cement bunkers were interesting to explore.

Normandy American Cemetery

Our next stop was the Normandy American Cemetery

Ken took a panoramic shot of Omaha beach from above on the trail to the cemetery.

A most touching, even overwhelming scene.  All the lives lost so that you and I can be free.

Thank you

Omaha Beach

We just stopped on the side of the road to take pictures of Omaha Beach.

This was a very moving and thought-provoking day.  Even weeks later, those feelings have not subsided.  We are so grateful to have had this experience.

This was a big step day for me.  Worth every step.

Don shared some beautiful pictures of birds that he took on this day:

Chiffchaff at the American Cemetery (you hear this bird's distinctive call in one of the temple films Ken tells me)

Linet at Point DuHoc

Back on the ship, the view from our balcony that evening.