Normandy is one of those trips every American should make. I have never known the terror of war. It has always been somewhere else. Normandy is the final resting place for many of our young men who gave their lives for freedom. Normandy was the beginning of the end of the atrocities of WWII.
From LeHavre to the Normandy beaches takes an hour and a half one way. Driving it would have been a breeze; riding in the back seat not so much.
Mathias shortened the trip by talking nonstop to prepare us for the visit. In case you are young enough not to know, Normandy was a crucial battle in WWII, a combined effort of England, Canada and the USA to liberate France from the Germans. What I knew about Normandy I learned in history class decades ago and have since forgotten. Uncle Vint, dad’s brother, served in the Army during the war, but he never talked about it and I never asked. A long time ago I saw the movie, The Longest Day, which Mathias says is the best movie on Normandy
I had a little trouble understanding everything Mathias said. First of all he was driving and I have a slight hearing loss. Secondly, although he had an awesome command of the English language the words sounded slightly different. So what I heard and what he said might be very different things. It was obvious he was enthusiastic, informed, articulate and intelligent. If there are any misstatements the blame belongs to me, not him.
We headed toward the five beach areas in Normandy involved in the D-Day (June 6th, 1944) operation, named by the Allies Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. The US was responsible for Utah and Omaha, England for Gold and Sword, Canada for Juno. As we rode toward our destination Mathias talked about the historical events that lead us to this point.
If I understood Mathias correctly, the end of World War I was resolved in Germany, but the war was not actually lost by Germany. I don’t quite understand that, so I guess I will need to pick up a book. However it happened, the agreement that ended the war severely restricted Germany’s military activities. It is possible that as a country they felt punished and developed resentments against the punishers. Enter Adolph Hitler and his book, Mein Kempf (My Struggle). Something about his message reached many of the Germans. He built national pride and that in turn enhanced the individual’s pride. Perhaps the easiest (certainly not the best) way to do that is to pick on someone smaller. The first victims of Germany were Germans.
Germany started violating the rules of the WWI treaty and although it was noticed, no one did anything about it. In 1935 Great Britain and Germany reached an agreement that allowed Germany to rebuild their navy. Prohibited from having tanks, they were built in Sweden and tested in Russia. In 1918 Germany gave away weapons. In 1930 they built better ones, in violation of the treaty. Their tanks traveled 25/30 mph compared to the standard 10 mph. The world watched, waited, considered, but took no action.
In 1938 Germany annexed Austria. Still the world did nothing. In 1939 Germany signed a non aggression pact with Russia to share Poland. Germany attacked Poland. France and England declared war 2 days later. Spain said it was not ready yet. Then the Germans invaded northern France. 1.5 million French were killed. June 14th the Germans entered Paris. After 6 weeks of the Lightening war 100,000 French had died. By 1942 France was conquered although the French resistance continued to work against Germany.
France was forced to give their land, taxes and wealth to the Germans as payment for the privilege of being occupied by them, to the tune of 100 million gold francs per day. 1.8 million French soldiers were taken prisoner.
After France was conquered, Germany tried to invade England with Operation Sea Lion in summer of 1940, but they attacked too late in the year to be successful. December 11, 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. 200,000 men died. The US became involved and committed.
“On June 6th, 1944 around 5 a.m. there began the largest landing exercise in the history of the world and the liberation of France.” The allies had decided the Strait of Dover was too well defended, that landing on the west side was impossible. Churchill believed that Germany must be defeated first before the War would end. Hence the plan was formulated for the combined efforts of US, England and Canada to attack the Germans at the beaches of Normandy.
At some point Mathias mentioned the 82nd Airborne division was involved. That intrigued me since Son Steve was in the 82nd Airborne division. It seems that this group missed their mark, perhaps because 3 of the regiments were inexperienced – only one had made a combat jump before in Sicily and was experienced in jumping into enemy territory. The pilots flying them were transport pilots, without a navigator, and flying into bad weather with violent winds.
American aircraft laid 12,000 tons of bombs in an attempt to demolish German strongholds. Heavy casualty rates did not deter the Alllies from their mission. The German artillery guns were well positioned at the points of the bay. Injury rate was in the 90 percent range for the first wave of soldiers.
The hedgerows, rows of compacted earth, stones and trees every 100 yards, which Mathias pointed out to us on the trip, resulted in the Battle of Hedgerows by US 90 for 8 days.
There were a lot more details but I was going in and out of lucidity.
Normandy is the home to many cemeteries: 6 German, 2 Canadian, 1 Polish, 15 British and 2 American cemeteries. Our first stop was the German Military Cemetery La Cambe. At first I was unsure why Americans would stop there. The horror of war is that it creates so many broken lives and abbreviates or alters the lives of so many young men and women, regardless of nationality. In this cemetery over 21,139+ soldiers were buried including about 300 unknown dead in a mass grave topped by basalt lava cross with two side figures.
Our last stop was the Normandy American Cemetery, one of two American cemeteries in France, where 9,387 soldiers are buried. Located next to the sea the grounds are beautifully manicured. A 22 foot statute “The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves” faces west toward the headstones.
The Garden of the Missing has the names of all MIA. When someone is found, and even after all these years bodies are still being discovered every year, a circle is put by the name to indicate the lost is found.
I was surprised to learn that there are 24 American cemeteries in 15 countries maintained by the United States. This Cemetery is second only to the Arlington National Cemetery in number of visitors with 1.3 million visitors annually.
In between cemeteries we toured the remnants of the reinforced concrete German bunkers on the cliffs, saw a floating bridge and the 4 mile stretch of Omaha Beach secured by the Americans. Mathias told us that the reason they landed at low tide (which basically increases exposure of the soldiers to German fire by 800 yards) was to uncover and destroy the many obstacles installed by the Germans on the beach. Along the way we lunched at a charming local café; watched boys playing boucles in the back yard.
Of course Mathias pointed out the local sites as well, but by the end of a sobering day, it was difficult to remember what they were. Since Terry is a veteran of the Vietnam War it is way too easy to imagine what might have happened in that war to him and what did happen to thousands of other young men. Who survives may just be a matter of timing and luck.
Experienced in war, Terry marveled at the victory because of the strength of the enemy and the unplanned problems that occurred. Whether it was luck or extraordinary commitment or both, I feel fortunate to live in a country that is willing to participate in safeguarding the freedom of others. I hope someday soon the world will evolve to a place where such sacrifices are no longer necessary.
Should you be going to Normandy I would highly recommend licensed Guide Mathias LeClere for your private tour. His website is www.ddayguidedtours.com, phone +33 6 10 02 12 32.
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