Weekend in Normandy - D-Day Beaches - Part II of II

Our Sunday was spent exploring the D-Day Beaches. Our first stop was the American Cemetary overlooking Omaha beach (one of the landing sites during the Normandy Invasion in WWII) which contains over 9000 US military who died, mostly during the invasion. After spending some time inside the museum watching film and touring the exhibits, we ventured outside to the serene and pristine lines of gravestones. Reading the names on the stones, coupled with the visual of the rows and rows of markers, made the loss poignantly real and left lumps in our throats for most of the morning.

Our second stop was Point-du-Hoc a memorial and museum dedicated to the United States Army Range Assault Group during Operation Overlord. The site of museum is fact the remains of a cliff top German machine gun post, which looks much like it must have looked, in the years immediately after the war. The attack site is still covered in its actual bomb craters and many of the original fortifications. Rupert & P had a great time, climbing in and out of the bunkers, block houses and through the reinforced concrete tunnels. I stayed above ground for the most part, it was a bit too real for me.

D in the crater field

Unfortunately the children conked out before we made it to the Canadian landing site, Juno Beach. Perhaps another time.