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D Day Invasion
Patriotic tour of Normandy D-Day
beaches
PSA Journal, July, 2009 by Tom Ellerbe
June 6, 1944, the Horsa British glider
crash-landed along side the Caen Canal in Northern France. Three airborne divisions landed by parachute and glider
behind targeted beaches. This was the beginning of "D-Day," a day that changed the course of history
forever.
A dream to visit the "beaches of Normandy" came true in May 2008. Each year, along
this mix of sandy beaches and sloping sand dunes, an actual memorial takes place. On June 6, the 64th anniversary
was celebrated.
The trip began in Honsfluer, where the Seine River greets the English Channel. 19th
century artist Eugene Boudin lived and painted here and Claude Monet and other gifted artists were attracted to
this charming little hamlet. Honfluer escaped the bombs of World War II and today offers a romantic seaport harbor.
The sun was disappearing as the small harbor area was preparing for a busy Saturday evening and charming
restaurants and shops sparkled with light. My fully automated Kodak 850 (5.1 MP) 12X Zoom, Compact Digital Camera
worked well with the night scene mode. I did however take most of the photos of this village in the early morning
hours the next day.
Early June weather in Normandy can be cold, windy and unpredictable. The 75 miles of
Atlantic coast north of Bayeux, from Ste. Marie-du-Mont to Oistreham, is littered with WWII museums, monuments,
cemeteries, and battle remains left in tribute to the courage of the British, Canadian, and American armies who
successfully carried out the largest military operation in history.
A "point and shoot" camera is convenient and handy especially when you are trying to
take photos and keep warm as the sharp wind crosses the beaches. The cold windy Normandy beaches were vacant in the
early morning and did present some composition challenges, but I was able to select some locations that captured
the shoreline with all the displayed Allied Flags.
Between 0630 and 0730 hours, 135,000 men and roughly 20,000 vehicles were brought in
by sea on five landing beaches. Nearly 175,000 American, Canadian, and British troops had entered Normandy, either
by air or sea, at a cost of some 4,900 casualties. Due to enormous and confusing elements of this landing, no exact
figures are possible, either for the number of men landed or for casualties, for D-Day alone. It was on these
serene beaches, at the crack of dawn on June 6, 1944, that the allies finally gained a foothold in France and Nazi
Europe began to crumble.
"Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and
noble undertaking." General Dwight D. Eisenhower Order of the Day, June 4, 1944
Many original German fortified bunkers remain intact today as they guard the Northern
coast of Normandy. There are museums with displays showing generator rooms, machine gun emplacements, ammunition
and arms store, telephone operation rooms, etc. The design and fortification of these emplacements took place over
a three-year span prior to the actual invasion. The most elaborate (5 level) bunker is located near the village of
Ouistreham, which is just outside of Caen.
Many historical memorials are located along the historic locations. One of the best
and most significant is the "Le Memorial de Caen." Caen, the modern capital of lower Normandy, has dedicated a
large piece of land and a very impressive architectural symbol officially named History to understand the war (Le
Memorial de Caen: L'histoire pour comprendre le monde).
In the main entrance a British Fighter Bomber "Typhoon" is mounted above the
visitors' entrance. The museum is brilliant, well displayed and a real tribute to the sacrifices by so
many.
The lighting in the memorial was not great but I was able to capture some nice
displays around the entrance of the museum.
The finale is a walk through the US Armed Forces Memorial Garden. Written on the
pavement: "From the heart of our land flows the blood of our youth, given to you in the name of
freedom."
The American Cemetery and Memorial are located at Vierville-sur-Mer, overlooking
"Omaha Beach," the site of the overwhelming challenge the American forces faced. Try to imagine landing in a small
flat-bottomed boat, shoulder-to-shoulder with other soldiers, all of you weighed down with wet, heavy packs and
guns. The boat door opens and you run for your life through water and sand into this open beach while Germans fire
on you at will from above. Twelve hundred American soldiers died on this beach the first day alone.
This magnificent facility features The Memorial, The Garden of Missing and the
Visitors Center. The Visitor Center begins with a short film clip of General Eisenhower discussing his decision to
land on June 6th.
There are 10 sections of gravesites divided alphabetically as one can search on a
computer and find their loved one and know exactly which area to search as our men and women lie beneath precisely
aligned headstones of white lasa marble, Latin crosses and Stars of David. Trees, shrubs and roses highlight the
grave plots. Beds of polyanthus roses trim the garden of the missing, while a variety of trees grace the lawn
areas.
The sun disappears in June around 9:30 pm so most photos were taken after 6 pm. The
sun was low in the West and the beaches faced north so the results were very nice.
Some interesting facts about the cemetery: the dimensions are 172.5 acres; there are
9,387 headstones; 9,238 Latin crosses; 149 Stars of David; 1,557 Missing in Action; 3 Medal of Honor Recipients and
38 sets of brothers. The cemetery was dedicated on July 18, 1956.
The Normandy American Cemetery is one of the 14 permanent American World War II
military cemeteries on foreign soil. The government of France granted use of this land, as a permanent burial
ground without charge or taxation.
General Eisenhower, who started it all with his "OK, lets go" order, gets the last
word. In 1964, on D-Day plus twenty years, Walter Cronkite interviewed him. Looking out at the Channel, Eisenhower
said, "You see these people out here swimming and sailing their little pleasure boats and taking advantage of the
nice weather and the lovely beach, Walter, and it is almost unreal to look at it today and remember what it was.
But it's a wonderful thing to remember what those fellows twenty years ago were fighting for and sacrificing for,
what they did to preserve our way of life. Not to conquer any territory, not for any ambitions of our own. But to
make sure that Hitler could not destroy freedom in the world. I think it's just overwhelming. To think of the lives
that were given for that principle, paying a terrible price on this beach alone, on that one day, 2,000 casualties.
But they did it so that the world could be free. It just shows what free men will do rather than be
slaves."
Having recently purchased a new Canon Rebel XDI EOS 450D, this photographer will
return to this brilliant, historic and unforgettable territory that played a part in changing the course of history
forever and with more knowledge about the art of photography, I will be able to create artistic images with even
greater results.
Tom Ellerbe
Aliso Viejo, California
by Tom Ellerbe - August 15, 2009
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For more information visit: www.travelguidesecretseurope.com
Source: http://www.travelguidesecretseurope.com
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