For our third day in France, we headed out on a day trip to
see Normandy and the D-Day Landing Beaches. It’s an area that both my Dad and I
have wanted to see. The day started out
with a two- hour drive to the Caen Memorial Museum. The Museum is dedicated to
what happened leading up to World War II, during the War, and an exhibit
focused on the Cold War. We only had time to do the first two portions. The museum depicted specifics to France (the
Holocaust, under occupation, and Normandy). We ate lunch at the museum before heading off
to begin the rest of the day viewing the beaches and the memorials.
Our first stop of the day after the museum was Le Pointe du Hoc. We were able to view the beach from the
cliff top as well as view old German pillboxes and structures used to house
weapons.
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| Le Pointe du Hoc |
From there, we drove down to Omaha Beach. We
spent a few moments exploring the beach as well as the memorials to the
American soldiers who lost their lives there.
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| Omaha Beach |
We were able to see the artificial harbor created at
Arromanches and part of Omaha Beach. Most of the parts of the artificial harbor
are still in tact.
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| Arromanches |
Before heading back to Paris, we had two more stops of the
day. The first was the American Cemetery of Saint-Laurent. We were given about
an hour to explore the cemetery, see the chapel, and see the memorial dedicated
to the young American men who lost their lives. It was a very moving
experience.
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| American Cemetery |
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| American Cemetery |
Finally, the last part of the trip for the day was to see
Juno Beach where the Canadian Memorial is. Juno Beach and Omaha Beach accounted
for some of the highest number of casualties during the battle.
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