Re: American Cemetery Normandy...

Legend [16779]

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Posts: 9362

Joined: 11/1/14

Jun 6, 2017, 2:35 PM

Been there...and Arizona Memorial...and Arlington. All evoke the same emotions, although, looking down at the beach...and the cliff down the road at Pointe du Hoc, you're really left envisioning simply how massively destructive and costly D-Day was. Very, very powerful, but worth visiting.

A side story of sorts; there was (and I suspect continues to be) an apple orchard about half-way between the Cemetery and Pointe du Hoc that has been around since the 10th century. With friends (who were with the State Dept in France), we visited and the current owner talked of how the German and, after D-Day, allied officers would stay at the farm during the war. For all, it was a bit of a sanctuary from the war's impact. In the many years following the war, officers from both sides would tend to visit and recall their times there, often, with each other. (By the way, excellent calvados!)

Amazing to have something in your family history spanning over 1000 years...and being ground zero for one of the most destructive times in history...yet as an oasis, as well.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

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I realized none of these Boys got hone to their Families, Friends, Jobs, Hoped for Careers, etc..

And maybe equally as sad is that greatest majority of their Families & Friends probably got the opportunity to go there to say Good-Bye!

And, while walking outside the Cemetery itself..looking down the steep hill towards the beach..I could really understand the slaughter that happened..especially the distances that had to be covered under direct fire.

A side note: to my right, looking down at the beach far away, a huge German Steel Pillbox full of holes from ship artillery was sitting next to me on the right at top of the hill..still as intimidating & dark & deadly looking as when the Allies stormed the beach to save the French & the World from Hilter!

And, the local French town had a museum & a film which showed something the American public never saw..that small German planes flew parellel down the beach with machine guns blazing & mowing down the Yanks like flies. I was horrified & sickened!

American Cemetery Normandy...