Day 3: Normandy

Thanks for staying tuned!

Normandy was by far the best experience of this trip. I don't foresee anything surpassing it, either. I had already done a report on the D-Day invasion of WWII, so I was prepared mentally for the visit. I wasn't, however, emotionally prepared for the experience. Many people in our group were very touched by this day.

We made our way from East to West on the coast of the Normandy region of France. We visited Gold Beach, Juno Beach, Omaha Beach, and then Pointe du Hoc. As we moved across the beaches, we could see the Mulberries, which were the structures left in the water to serve as temporary harbors.

We came across some batteries of German emplacements on the shores. It's interesting to see the damage some of the emplacements took during the invasion. Talk about hands-on history!

Next came Omaha Beach, which was the deadliest D-Day beach, and was also a beach completely covered by U.S. soldiers only. Our tour guide, Allison, was absolutely phenomenal. She took us to a few different tombs of individual soldiers who fell in Normandy. She told us the soldiers' personal stories, and about their family members. The one picture is the tomb of Teddy Roosevelt, Jr. Their stories were amazing. A few people in our group were brought to tears with Allison's stories.

We were then allowed to walk down to the beaches where the amphibious invasion took place on June 6th. Some great pictures were taken with the sun casting awesome shadows on the sand.

After Omaha we still had some time for Pointe du Hoc, which was the Germans' strongest position, which also meant it was the most bombed upon. Notice the craters and the destruction.

More to come! Next will be some reports on some World War I sites. Thanks!