Moving Day in Normandy

Wednesday, May 24
I am proud to be an American!  And today patriotism is coursing through my veins. We have visited Normandy and have seen the American D-Day invasion sites, as well as the Normandy American cemetery. I have been horribly saddened by the tales of what has happened on these beaches. But moreover, I am incredibly grateful for those who served.

Omaha Beach

We visited Omaha and Utah Beaches, as well as Pointe du Hoc. During the D-Day invasion, over 4,000 Allied forces' lives were lost. About 2,000 of those were American. (About 10,000 German lives were lost.)
At the cemetery, over 9,000 Americans are buried. The families of the service men who lost their lives on the European front were given a choice of whether to be buried in an European American service cemetery or returned to the USA. About 40% of the Americans lost in Normandy are buried in the Normandy cemetery.

Our tour guide, Floyd, did a fabulous job of sharing a great deal of information. He was certainly passionate about his job!  He also shared tales of particular men, which made the true stories so much more personal and meaningful.
I am thankful for each and every man and woman who served our country in the armed forces. Jacque's father, Jack, landed on Utah Beach the day after D-Day. He served under General Roosevelt. I know that Jacque must have a deeper sense of appreciation for what he went through. I also appreciate my dad's service on the European front, in a much more acute way. And we were the lucky ones...our fathers returned home.

 Omaha Beach

We left our apartment at 6:00 this morning to get to the train station in time for our train. And we will return to Paris at about 8:30 p.m.  It's been a long, sad day...but an experience I will never forget.

Some general observations:
*One of the reasons our ground troops had such a difficult time advancing was due to the hedgerows.  These are so much more than bushes.  Their thick trunks intertwine to make fencing that is about 4 feet thick.  And they are very tall.  I never understood this before when I had read the term "hedgerows".
*"Hobart's Funnies", as they were called, were really amazing inventions that made this invasion possible.  Hobart invented a tank that could roll across ditches, he added a version of hedgerow cutters to tanks, and designed an armored bulldozer to "eat up" obstacles placed on the beaches...just to name a few.
*Jewish American soldiers did not have their religion placed on their name tags, knowing that if they were captured by the Germans they would receive worse treatment.
*American soldiers seem to be very appreciated in the towns that were liberated.  There are many statues of American soldiers, American flags, and even paintings on store windows.
*One of the most poignant scenes shared by Floyd took place in a church in a small town.  Two American medics, one trained for two weeks and the other trained for two months, set up a camp hospital in this town church. The German battalion that was occupying this town (I can't remember the name but it was something like Faustenheizer) was a more humane division than most.  They were known to follow the rules of war, which was unusual for the Germans during this war.  They allowed the medics to take care of the wounded, and the medics cared for the American and German wounded.  Respect was shown between opposing forces at this small church in this small town.  The two medics are honored greatly in this town.
*What an amazing example of strategy was the D-Day invasion!  The Allied Forces wanted Germany to think that the attack would happen at a different location.  Calais seemed the most logical position for an attack as the channel is the narrowest at this point.  So they did everything they could to make it look like the attack would take place there, including using blow up tanks (inflatable) to make it look like that would be the spot for an invasion.

At Utah Beach there is a restaurant called The Roosevelt.  As vets of the D-Day invasion visit this café, they sign their names to the walls or the furniture.  It was so moving to see these brave men's signatures throughout the building.

A table full of vets' signatures at The Roosevelt Café

We finally return to Paris, and though we're certainly not dressed for fine dining, we don't feel like going back to the apartment to change.  I remember that the Goularts had recommended a restaurant in our neighborhood, Au Vieux Paris d'Arcole, so we decide to give it a try.
Donna had told me to find Freddy at the restaurant, which we did.  And we also met his sidekick whose name we missed but he jokingly referred to himself as Odette.  These two are a little comedy team...and they mostly crack themselves up.  They are quite jovial and make for a fun evening.

"Odette", me, Freddy, and John enjoying our evening at d'Arcole

You are invited to pick your own bottle from their wine cellar, but first you have to brave the stairs.  This is a very steep spiral staircase.  But John braves it...because, after all...there is wine at the bottom! We have a very good time and start to wonder...where are the stuffy French waiters people talk about?  We haven't seen one yet!