Respect and Gratitude at the Normandy Beaches

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 by Norma Hopcraft

While we stayed in Bayeux (see previous post for photos of the hostel / convent we stayed in), we visited the Normandy beaches.

I've wanted all my life to see this place where freedom vs. slavery of the world was contested. I've always wanted to pay my respects at the American cemetery. So many young men died on D-Day. There are 12,000 Americans buried in the American cemetery, and there are British and Canadian and Aussie and New Zealander graves in other burial grounds in Normandy. There's a huge German cemetery too.

So many stories of heroic leadership were written that day.

And so many young men died.

The day we visited was a somber day though the sun was shining relentlessly.

This is Pointe du Hoc, a 100-foot cliff and the highest point between Omaha and Utah Beaches. During World War II it was fortified by the Germans and believed to be impossible to breach. There are a number of German bunkers still embedded in the hillside. There are also huge craters where American bombs fell. The craters are now full of wildflowers.

The Pointe was full of people, all respectfully quiet and serious. Many young people were there with tour guides telling them about D-Day, and about all that was at stake that day. It was gratifying to see their serious interest in history. May we never have to repeat a day like that one.

The barbed wire has been there more than 80 years.

From Pointe du Hoc you can look east toward Omaha Beach.

Can you see the windsurfer in the center of the picture, just beyond the wall of the American Cemetery?

All these young men fought and died so we'd be free to do things like windsurf 

instead of slaving in Nazi mines. 

And free to vote.

The number of crosses is overwhelming.