31 NORMANDY BEACHES AND CEMETERIES

Back to the D Day beach area the next day, Don and I decided to combine our bike ride with the tour.

We first visited Point du Hoc, a massive German stronghold of fortifications. This was a strategic position because this point juts out into the English Channel (in French, La Manche) and it gave the Germans an excellent vantage point to survey any activities at sea or on major stretches of beach. The 2^nd Ranger Division was charged with taking this position, which was a very difficult assignment. The point is set up high above the shale beach and the Rangers had to scale the cliffs using rope ladders. The wind and stormy weather added to the already difficult and dangerous assignment.

The area has been left as it was after the war ended. The cliffs and hillsides are pocked with huge holes where bombs were dropped. Some cement bunkers are crumbled and deformed from shellfire and bombs. Some remain intact. Walking through the fortifications it is easy to imagine being a terrified 18-year-old German soldier sitting like a duck in one of these buildings. There are bombs bursting all around and you have very little to protect yourself with because the big bosses have moved the big guns out of the area to protect them. In their place they have installed phony wooden mockups to try to fool the British. These kids must have been terrified, but they still put up a valiant fight for their side.

We rode east through the beach towns, stopping to look at the display of WWII equipment at the Musee D Day Omaha in Vierville. We were able to inspect a gun turret, a large bell-shaped chamber made out of thick steel, with small portholes. Very large caliber shells seriously damaged one of the portholes. There was also a landing craft, which was used to transport troops and equipment, and a German 88mm gun on display.

We continued our bike ride along the road that parallels Omaha Beach. Along the route are posted many signposts dedicating various roads to specific soldiers. These were posted by Colonel Caffey to honor his troops lost in the D Day battles.

We arrived at Omaha beach, where the movie, Saving Private Ryan, was set. This is a huge, flat beach, with no cover for the soldiers. On top of that the Germans had installed barriers on the beach, designed to damage any boats or barges that tried to land there. It is easy to see why so many men died here. They were defenseless, had no cover and the obstacles to achieving their goals were immense—bad weather, obstacles, no cover, cold and wet, cliffs to scale, well-positioned and well-armed enemy. 6500 American men were either killed or wounded in this offensive.

Leaving the beach area we continued through the countryside to the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. This cemetery includes a memorial with wall-sized maps of the battle strategy, a bronze statue symbolizing the spirit of American Youth, a Garden of the Missing, with a wall inscribed with the names of the men missing in action, and the graves area. There are almost 20000 graves here. The cemetery is serene, stately, solemn. We walked through the graveyard reading the names of the boys who are buried there. Most of them are so young—18, 19 years old. Their lives were cut so short.

We also visited the German cemetery. There is a meaningful display of photos and letters from German boys to their families and sweethearts. They were just regular guys after all, not ogres or evil. The entrance to the cemetery grounds is through a narrow door. In the center of the cemetery is a huge mound where unidentified soldiers are buried. The atmosphere is somber and humble. Some of you may ask about the Gestapo who are buried there. I have heard that there are some, but the tombstones that I read were all little boys, low level guys, who didn’t run things.

We only visited two of the D Day beaches—the places the American troops landed. There are 5 in all if you include the British and Canadian landing sites, and many other important battle sites to visit. But we had had enough. To thoroughly see everything and visit everything you should allocate at least a week.