France

Menu
  • IanAndWendy.com
    • WineTastingSonomaCounty.com
    • WeTravelWithKids.com
    • Close
  • Map
  • Countries
    • Caribbean
      • Anguilla
      • Antigua
      • Aruba
      • Bahamas
      • Curacao
      • Dominica
      • Easter Island
      • Martinique
      • Puerto Rico
      • St. Lucia
      • St. Martin
    • Americas
      • Mexico
      • USA
      • Costa Rica
    • Eastern Europe
      • Austria
      • Czech Republic
      • Estonia
      • Latvia
      • Lithuania
      • Poland
      • Slovakia
      • Slovenia
    • Western Europe
      • Belgium
      • Denmark
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Holland
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • Italy
      • Liechtenstein
      • Luxembourg
      • Norway
      • Portugal
      • Spain
      • Switzerland
      • Turkey
      • Vatican City
    • Asia
      • Brunei
      • Cambodia
      • China
      • Vietnam
      • India
      • Korea
      • Malaysia
      • Maldives
      • Singapore
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
    • Middle East
      • Egypt
      • Israel
      • Jordan
      • Oman
      • UAE
    • Africa
      • Botswana
      • Namibia
      • Egypt
      • Morocco
      • Tunisia
      • Zimbabwe
    • Pacific
      • Cook Islands
      • Easter Island
      • Tahiti
      • New Zealand
    • Close
  • Travel Tips
  • amazon
  • About Us

Lest We Forget – Omaha Beach, Pointe Du Hoc and the American Cemetery

November 13, 2000
by Wendy
American Cemetery, Armistice Day, beaches, cemetery, D-Day, German, November 11, Pointe du Hoc, Remembrance Day, Utah Beach, Veteran's Day
0 Comment
Memorial to the parachutists.
Memorial to the parachutists.
For Remembrance Day/Armistice Day/Veteran’s Day (November 11th), we spent the weekend visiting the D-Day Beaches in Normandy.  We started at a memorial to the parachutists who landed near Sainte Mere-Eglise. One of them got stuck on the church steeple and the locals risked their lives to give him a proper burial.

Then we went on to Utah Beach, which was the site of one of the American landings.  Standing on an empty, peaceful beach it is hard to imagine the circumstances that the American soldiers faced here when they came ashore.

Pointe du Hoc
Pointe du Hoc
Further down the coast, at the Pointe du Hoc was the most difficult landing. 225 specially trained US Rangers scaled the 30m cliffs and took the key German position. They then held it until help arrived 2 days later for the 90 survivors.  Even today the ground is littered with craters from the battle.  The bunker at the tip of the Point is barely above the ground. We have no idea how they managed to attack it, let alone capture it.

We went on to the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, near Omaha Beach. The cemetery is so large it would take an aerial photo to capture it all. Nearly 10,000 American soldiers are buried there.  In the center of the cemetery is a small chapel.  When we first entered the cemetery we thought that was the far end of it and were already overwhelmed at the number of graves.  When we walked over to it, we realized we’d only seen half the graves.

Memorial at one end of the American Cemetery
Memorial at one end of the American Cemetery
At one end of the cemetery stands a memorial with a statue called the “American Youth Rising from the Waves”. The inscription around the top of the memorial reads, “This embattled shore portal of freedom is forever hallowed by the ideals the valor and the sacrifices of our fellow countrymen.”

About the Author
Social Share
  • google-share

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

captcha *

Click to cancel reply

Recent Posts

How to spoil yourself silly on a beach vacation
Nov 06, 2015
Old, almost free tech bringing traveling families together
Oct 15, 2015
Losing our wheels in Munich
Oct 09, 2015
A disgusting car seat awaits you in Munich!
Sep 30, 2015
Alphaberry by B-Toys - An electronic singing toy we love to travel with!
Sep 28, 2015

Slideshows

(see all 44 France slideshows)

Videos

Recent Posts

  • How to spoil yourself silly on a beach vacation
  • Old, almost free tech bringing traveling families together
  • Losing our wheels in Munich
  • A disgusting car seat awaits you in Munich!
  • Alphaberry by B-Toys – An electronic singing toy we love to travel with!
  • Fabulous indoor – and outdoor – playground in Siauliai, Lithuania