I’ve decided to dedicate a post to Veteran’s Day as our autumn trip to Normandy certainly made for an appropriate segue. In France and Great Britain, November 11th is heralded as Armistice Day including a moment of silence at 11:00 a.m. followed by ceremonies across the country to commemorate those who fell during WW I and II.
We motored by way of Tours to Bayeaux which is a lovely town with a stunning cathedral not far from the beaches of Normandy; we had a superb lunch in the town center, spending time pondering how much of this village was ravaged during the war. Thankfully, the cathedral had managed to survive, but we saw old buildings fused to new construction; you can always tell the difference despite the surprisingly authentic materials used here for new builds.
Driving through the Norman countryside we encountered classic French farms with cows, sheep and plowed fields; lovely hedgerows where so many skirmishes were staged during the war now housed birds and hedgehogs going about their daily business. The architecture of Normandy is tall and rather boxy with roofs made of slate. There is a distinct absence of the channel terracotta roofing tiles and pigeonniers so common to the south of France. Though Colombage homes (the architecture of our house) are popular in this area we didn’t see much which was surprising; I suspect they are further north.
All around us there was peace and calm, much like Pearl Harbor and Gettysburg so you have to summon the ghosts to get clarity on the carnage; the pain, the sacrifice…the horror.
Upon reflection, in 2022 and into 2023, we have visited many significant war memorials ranging from Pearl Harbor, Gettysburg, Arlington Cemetery, the Washington DC War Memorials and now Normandy, France. Oh…and let’s not forget Window Rock, AZ, home of the Navajo Code Talker Memorial; they were a significant force in winning the war in the Pacific.
Having made these efforts to explore such significant history, we have now truly internalized and echo the sentiment that “Freedom is not Free.”
Upon our arrival to the seaside, we found that Omaha beach and the surrounding cities are atypical coastal towns that, aside from the architecture, reminds me a lot of the Oregon coast with children playing on the beach like they would anywhere else. I enjoyed a mostly solitary stroll along the boardwalk, enjoying the sea breezes, the sway of the ocean and pondering the newer-build oceanfront villas.
The American Cemetery turned out to be pretty busy, and I was surprised at how many families along with their school-age children were there; it turns out they were on school holiday – one of the many that French children enjoy! Being off-season it was both surprising and comforting to see so many people from different nationalities attending. It was endearing watching the French families educating their children on the history of this place and pointing to the signs to be quiet and reverent; France was after all front and center during the war.
The solidarity here is palpable as you overlook the sea of crosses that seem as though they were placed just yesterday; pristine white as if they are lovingly polished on a daily basis. As we were later in the day we witnessed the lowering and folding of the flags, followed by taps which – as always – causes you to internalize the grief of the profound sacrifices made during D-Day and the ensuing months. As my father was a WWII vet (the Pacific) I always have to fight the tears.
Most of the cemetery is roped off, but you are allowed a smaller section to wander through the maze of tombstones, reflecting on these warriors, some who couldn’t even be identified; we asked ourselves – were they obliterated by a bomb? Argh. Though it would have proven too burdensome to ship so many remains back to America, over the decades most of these soldiers will be forgotten, yet, their legacy will remain for generations to come.
American Cemetery – Normandy Beach
The next day proved to be sunny and milder, but windy as we ventured to Gold Beach where the British and Canadian forces teamed up as part of Operation Overlord. They had constructed the “Mulberry B Artificial Harbor” just offshore that included “floating bridges” for the transport of vehicles and materials needed for the incursion. The remnants of the harbor are still visible during low tide. This operation was an astounding achievement of engenuity that is difficult to wrap your head around. And when you think that they didn’t have the resources that are available today, you can only marvel at the genius on display. It turned out to be a massive success, but not without a horrendous loss of life.
https://www.dday-overlord.com/en/media-library/photos/gold-beach/mulberry-b
We wandered around the beach peeking into the rusted remains of the bridges then headed to the village for a chocolat chaud.
It should be noted that all along this region of Normandy there are American, French, British and Canadian flags flown in solidarity; it gave me more comfort than the hot chocolate!
Sculptures at Gold Beach
Our next stop was the Bayeux Commonwealth Cemetery – equally, if not more heartbreaking, than the American one because you are not overwhelmed by the scale but by the intimacy. Due to the proximity to England I’m sure the British families wanted the bodies of their fallen to come home for a proper burial, but for those who remained the cemetery has proven to be a touching memorial that perhaps the families felt would give their beloved relatives an enduring legacy.
The memorial feels more like an English garden with roses still blooming around the headstones; they show the regiment with its accompanying symbol pain-stakingly carved into it followed by…this is the crippler…the name and age of the deceased. We saw several that were 19 or 20 years-old, some headstones fused to one another as they had died together. In addition to the British and Canadian graves, we saw Polish, Jewish, Arabic and one section dedicated to German soldiers. Like the American Cemetery, there were those that could not be identified.
Many of them had June 6th inscribed on them, then you would see post D-Day dates that stagger through August 1944; you really get a sense of the incursion beyond the initial launch of Operation Overlord.
Bayeux Commonwealth Cemetery
Subconsciously we knew that the majority that died were so young, but this memorial made it visceral.
As it is a Commonwealth Memorial I suspect it isn’t as frequented as the American Cemetery, but I encourage anyone who takes the time to come to this region of France to spend some time here as it’s in Bayeux. There is a lot to process here – it is a profound experience that you will not soon forget.
Thankfully we have “Saving Private Ryan” and the “Band of Brothers” along with a long stream of war movies to help us get a real sense of what it must have been like.
On a more recent note, I was curious as to why there was a fair amount of indictment against the movie “Lone Survivor” about Marcus Luttrell and the failed Seal Team mission in Afghanistan to hunt down a notorious Taliban leader; it seemed as though some viewers could not suspend their disbelief at the validity of the story and that it was just a Hollywood propaganda movie. I once had the privilege of working for an ex-Navy Seal who had been in covert ops (can’t imagine what his duty was!). Despite his level of intensity, I found I could have very grounded conversations with him. I had asked him about the movie and the response from IMDB, he smirked and let me know yes – it’s all true; most people cannot imagine that anyone would make that level of sacrifice. He also went on about how he couldn’t understand why so many incredibly fit recruits dropped out of Seal training; about how others who may not appear resilient but are incredibly so. What is the secret sauce?
I wish I knew the answer to his question, but I do know that those that have gone through extreme levels of adversity, as I have found in much of the refugee communities I have dealt with, have cultivated a level of resiliency and humility that is lacking in so many western societies today.
With all our modernization and freedoms, we have become complacent in so many ways, and perhaps we need better immersion into the adverse aspects of life to build the resiliency and humility of future generations. Especially after witnessing French parents actively teaching their children the significance of the seemingly endless sea of crosses that fanned out before them; that the beaches of Normandy weren’t always about bucolic summer breezes and building castles in the sand.
All the memorials we have visited were a sobering experience: If it weren’t for these brave souls making the ultimate sacrifice, I wouldn’t be enjoying the privileges I do now; the memorials are truly inspiring and should not be left to a mere documentary on Netflix.
They leave you with a profound sense that war is truly hell, but sadly we never really seem to learn the lesson. #neverforget
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