This year marks the 65th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy, which was the major turning point of WWII in Europe. Early in the morning of June 6, 1944, the largest military operation in history began as 135,000 Allied soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy, to begin the liberation of Europe, and change the course of history.
Allied Forces disembark from amphibious landing craft LCVP. Photo by Robert F. Sargent, US Coast Guard, provided by USCG Collection in US National Archives.
One of the many things I love about the French, they are great “preservers” of history, with such dignity and reverence. Standing on Omaha Beach, or seeing the German cannons still embedded in Longue-sur-Mer, and the cliffs and bomb craters at Point du Hoc, you feel the years slip away, and imagine what it was like for these brave young boys, so far from home, and so cognizant of the imminent danger all around them.
These are some of my favorite photos of the region:
Allied troops were met by German cannons embedded in the heavily fortified cement bunkers at Longues-sur-Mer
Cliffs at Point du Hoc, where U.S. Army Rangers 2nd Battalion used fireman’s ladders and grappling hooks to invade the German stronghold. Two-thirds of the Rangers perished in the assault.
Bomb craters at Pointe du Hoc
American Cemetery at Colleville sur Mer...9,387 simple white marble crosses and Stars of David mark the final resting place of the brave men and women who lost their lives in the conflict.
Caen Peace Memorial, extremely well done museum documenting conflicts throughout the 20th century.
As a tribute to peace, this sculpture says it all.
Non-profit group “The French Will Never Forget” organized an extraordinary gathering of 2,500 people on Omaha Beach, July 4, 2007, to commemorate D-Day. The crowd formed on the sand the letters of the phrase: “FRANCE WILL NEVER FORGET”, aimed at honoring the fallen American heroes who sacrificed their lives to liberate France from Nazi occupation. 
“Our goal is, once again, to demonstrate the deep respect and gratitude of the people of France, for their recovered freedom thanks to America’s extreme sacrifices during the Second World War and which no one can, or will ever forget.” declared the co-founders of the organization. Click here to watch the incredible video of the event.
Here is the link to the Normandy Tourism Office, and where you will find a schedule of events and all the “must see” sights in Normandy.
that’s really cool (:
i likeeee.
Beautiful photos — what a moving post!
I just wanted to let you know that I just gave your blog a One Lovely Blog award: http://www.travelogged.com/travelogged/2009/06/one-lovely-blog-award.html
Liz, thank you so very much for the kind words, and for the Lovely Blog Award! I am honored and very grateful!
You are right. France will never forgot it was such a big time. Visiting Normandy and all the beaches out there really retraces what happen. When out there you can really have a feel of what happened.
It is amazing to know how everything has been planned and how they managed to keep it secret.
Thanks to remind us of the past, some important moment in history that should never be forgotten.
Thanks for your comment. It is amazing how it was kept a secret. We learned through touring the Spy Museum in D.C. how “misinformation” was leaked to the spy community that the invasion would take place farther up the coast, near Lille, and that German troops had amassed more firepower in that direction. Also the decoy tanks and boats that were actually inflatable models that were station in the UK to simulate the debarkation. Just amazing.
Omaha Beach or Obama Beach as Grodan brown in afraudian slip dubbed it at this year’s memorial service is an endearing legacy of the ultimate sacrifice made by so many young American, Canadian, British and Commonwealth troops to liberate France and Europe from Nazi occupation and through that the entire world from a possibly disastrous destiny. We will should make that pledge repeated by young cadets to the few remaining surviving veterans that we will keep the memory of those events alive in the minds of future generations.
Thanks for your comment Andreas. You are right that we must keep these memories alive for future generations. Our family toured Normandy two years ago, but my son was too young to understand the importance. He’s ten now, and we watched all the D-Day commemorations last week, and now he understands. He read my blog post with great interested, and he said “Mom, that video of the people on the beach makes me cry.”
So yes, to your point, we must be sure that future generations remember and continue to honor the sacrifices made in the name of freedom.
I have been watching the coverage on TV and its been thought provoking. they say that with all history you should go and touch and smell to get a connection. the connection that i want to feel is the thanks that i give to those brave guys. your in my thoughts.
Thanks for your comment, Ian. Yes you are so right…to touch, to smell and see up close…it is breathtaking, standing on the Pointe du Hoc and seeing the bomb craters, exactly as they were 65 years ago. And also the German cannons embeded at Longues sur Mer. The French are wonderful at leaving things intact, and trying to preserve the history as much as possible, to make it more “real” for visitors. In the US, we would probably bulldoze the bomb craters, pave it over, and build a shopping mall.
Wow! what a great story. My eyes were tearing up as I read your post especially the picture of the non-profit group on the beach. What a moving event! Thank you for sharing. When I visit France, this will be one of my must-visit destination.
Thanks Amy for your kind comment. I love the video too! I probably should move it up to the top of the post, so people can’t miss it!
Thanks for the great pictures and moving article. It is so easy to forget not just what we, America, did for the French, but the horrors the French went through during the war. I plan on going to Normandy soon and to see all of the locations photographed above and more.
you know history is there as a lesson if we don’t pay attention & learn from history human nature is bound to continually make the same mistakes over & over again.
so we should not forget history but we should not hold on to thoughts of hatred, anger & revenge either.
in australia we celebrate anzac day which is a celebration of the diggers that sacrificed their lives at gallipolli in turkey …
lest we forget !!!
Rod, you are so right. We have to teach our children tolerance. Thanks for your comment.
That’s beautiful, I’ve managed to visit Pearl Harbor and several memorials in Washington D.C.
May we all never forget the sacrifices made to retain the freedoms we enjoy.
Thanks MoxKirby. Pearl Harbor is so moving too. I took my daughter there when she was about 5 years old. We remember the oil still leaking from one of the smokestacks. Very sobering.
Being a WWII buff as a young person, I was always interested to learn about the battles and outcomes but never really considered the toll of those actually there. After listening to my father-in-laws stories from his days over there it definitely shed a new light. As with the French, there are many people here in the US that will never forget everyone’s sacrifice either.
You are so right, Jim. Our generation has no idea what it means to truly “sacrifice” as our parents and grandparents did. While the men were on the front lines risking their lives, the women were working long hours in factories and assembly lines to manufacture war-related goods. On a much smaller scale, I remember my grandmother talking about all the rationing during war times. Staples we take for granted like coffee, sugar, etc were rationed. Nylon too was rationed, so ladies had no stockings to wear. She said ladies would draw a line up the back of their legs with eyebrow pencil, in order to look like the seams of stockings, to give the appearance they were wearing stockings!
And for the most part, from the accounts I’ve heard, they didn’t complain because everyone felt they were doing their part, however small it might be, to help in the war effort. Such different times we live in today.
That was a big day for all Allied Forces. My father was in the New Zealand Army, I don’t have his rank and number just handy, it’s in my ‘to keep box’. He wasn’t one of the ones on the beaches that day, thank goodness, but the RNZAF was there on the day though.
Thank goodness we have had no War to like this since then.
Sir Winston Churchill did pen a most wonderful and inspiring speech at the begining of WWII, “We shall fight on the beaches…we shall never surrender…”
Julie, thank you so much for your comment, and I’m sorry to be so late in my reply. You are absolutely right. They were truly “Allied” forces, not just American. British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand. God bless your father, and all those who serve.
Very moving article and pictures. Hard to believe such horror took place there. It looks so peaceful and beautiful now……
Thank you for reminding us all of our freedoms and those who fight for them.
What beautiful photos from what was once a place of death and destruction. Hopefully we will always remember those who served to preserve our freedom from tyranny. Thanks for sharing!
Yes, that certainly is a time that the world will never forget. It’s very nice to see that it is still remembered and commemorated. That whole era changed the way the world was viewed forever.
As an American, I sincerely appreciate and value the remembrance of the high cost of American lives on foreign soil defending not only freedom of the USA, but of other countries and peoples as well. Thank you for such a tasteful post. The photos were excellent. Thanks!
I love France and French people and all things French!
Thanks for the reassurance that the French people are preservers of important historical events and that they honor and respect the ones who sacrificed their lives.
Viva la France.