Thursday 11/15/18 - Normandy
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Rode the bus for 2 hours on our way to Normandy over the beautiful countryside. We saw many farms, cattle, horses etc. Lovely.
Our first stop was the Arromanches Debarkment D-Day Museum and learned about the engineering and logistical activity it took to launch this attack. Amazing feat!!
Lunch was at the Omaha Beach Golf Club. Delicious food, beautiful course.
Onward to the American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer to attend the daily ceremony honoring those who had died. The average age being 24. Viking provided us with roses, so we found a graves from Pennsylvania and Oklahoma to lay ours.
An 82 year old gentlemen on the trip had an uncle buried in the cemetery. He was the first relative who had traveled to France and visit the grave. They had contacted the American Cemetery management before the trip, and a docent collected them and took them to the uncle's grave.
The chapel was very peaceful, the inscription around the building read:
"They endured all and gave all that justice among nations might prevail and that mankind might enjoy freedom and inherit peace."
We then went to Omaha Beach, view the Memorials, walk the beach and reflect.
We visited the Omaha Beach Visitors Center and then headed back to the boat.
Both of us thought we were prepared for the emotion of the cemetery, as we have been to full military honor burials at Arlington. We were wrong.
Rode the bus for 2 hours on our way to Normandy over the beautiful countryside. We saw many farms, cattle, horses etc. Lovely.
Our first stop was the Arromanches Debarkment D-Day Museum and learned about the engineering and logistical activity it took to launch this attack. Amazing feat!!
Lunch was at the Omaha Beach Golf Club. Delicious food, beautiful course.
Onward to the American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer to attend the daily ceremony honoring those who had died. The average age being 24. Viking provided us with roses, so we found a graves from Pennsylvania and Oklahoma to lay ours.
An 82 year old gentlemen on the trip had an uncle buried in the cemetery. He was the first relative who had traveled to France and visit the grave. They had contacted the American Cemetery management before the trip, and a docent collected them and took them to the uncle's grave.
The chapel was very peaceful, the inscription around the building read:
"They endured all and gave all that justice among nations might prevail and that mankind might enjoy freedom and inherit peace."
We then went to Omaha Beach, view the Memorials, walk the beach and reflect.
We visited the Omaha Beach Visitors Center and then headed back to the boat.
Both of us thought we were prepared for the emotion of the cemetery, as we have been to full military honor burials at Arlington. We were wrong.
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