71st Anniversary of D-Day, Normandy France

This Saturday June 6th marked the 71st Anniversary of D-Day.  On this special occasion I wanted to pay tribute and share Bill and our oldest daughter, Hannah’s personal visit to the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial located in Normandy France.  To be at the site of where the turning point of history happened marked as D-Day was an amazing and a memorable experience for the two of them.  The day was filled with visits to the  visiting center, the museum, the chapel, Omaha beach and the cemetery.  Hannah told Bill later that it was one of the highlights of her trip to Europe.

The memorial was established after the war, France granted the United States 172  acres of land to bury their own.  It is situated on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach at one of the locations where the U.S. troops landed on the Normandy coastline.  Bill brought home a brochure and a booklet from their visit to the museum that is available for downloading here-brochure and here-booklet.  It’s a great little resource of D-Day history, point of interest, and maps of the area.

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Pointe du Hoc

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71st D-Day anniversary

On June 6, 1944 the allied nations with the majority of troops from the U.S., United Kingdom, and Canada {the others were from Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Poland} launched an attack on the beaches of Normandy against Nazi Germany.  The invasion began with more than  160,000 troops, 5,000 ships, and 13,000 aircraft.  By June 11, they were able to secure the beaches.  The invasion moved inland through the countryside and on August 25, 1944, Paris and Werstern Europe were no longer under the control of Nazi Germany.

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De Chapel at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

“This chapel has been erected by the United States of America in grateful memory of her sons who gave their lives in the landings on the Normandy Beaches and in the liberation of Northern France.  Their Graves are the permanent  and visible symbol of  their heroic devotion and their sacrifice in the common cause of humanity.”

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inside the chapel

“I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish.”

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The Normandy American Cemetery was establish after the D-Day invasion.  It’s the resting place of U.S. servicemen who died during the mission and there after.  In a park like setting, there are ten grave plots that are lined with 9,387 headstones made from white Lasa marble of crosses and Stars of David.

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At the Garden of the Missing is where the names of 1,557 missing soldiers are inscribed.

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Hannah stood in the center of one of the many craters that formed from the Allied bombing.

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A little glimpse into the history as Hannah walked along the paths to see the remnents of what was once the strongholds of the Nazi Germans

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A view high on  a bluff of the scarred landscape overlooking Omaha beach. It is open to the public to explore and see the remains of the German bunkers, barriers, and casement for artilleries.

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Pointe du Hoc Monument

“To the heroic ranger commandoes D2RN, E2RN, F2RN of the 116th INF who under the commander of Colonel James E. Rudder of the first American division attacked and took possession of the Pointe de Hoc.”

At the edge of the cliff, Pointe du Hoc Monument was erected on top of a bunker to honor the 2nd Ranger Battalion for their courage to scale the cliff and disarm the German guns that were pointing at the beaches.

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The Battle of Normandy had its cost, over 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded, or went missing.  The current count of deaths from both sides is over 110,000 {77,866 German, 9386 Americans, 17,769 British, 5,002 Canadian, and 650 Poles}.

Freedom isn’t free, it comes at a high cost, never take it for granted, remember the sacrifices made, and to always be thankful for the freedom that you have.

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sources:   US Army/D-Day  ⎜  D-Day Museum & Overlord Embroidery  ⎜  History, D-Day    American Battle Monuments Commission, D-Day

Posted by: Bill & Kay