When we went to Paris, France in Nov. 2021, my wife asked me what place I would like to visit on that trip. We hired a driver to drive us from Paris to Normandy. Our driver took us to Omaha Beach where we visited the Normandy American Cemetery. It was quite an experience. There is a specific area where visitors can walk and read the information of the fallen soldiers. I remember reading about 5-10 crosses with Date of Death being the same. I can only assume that they were on the same location and maybe even the same squad when they were killed. There were so many that didn't make it home. So many young soldiers. They SHALL FOREVER BE REMEMBERED.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ador,

My father-in-law hit Omaha Beach with the 1st wave. We watched Saving Private Ryan together and the beach scene made him really uncomfortable and I could see him reliving some of it. He said the scene was pretty realistic but it was much, much than that. I see what they went through and I look over and see my 18 yr old grandson and wonder how in the hell kids that young went through that.

May God bless there souls and bless all that gave so much to protect our freedoms.

I visited Normandy on 5 Jun 2015--the day before the historic date. It was full of people there to remember what was done there in 1944. As sobering as the experience was, my favorite photo is of this old soldier, catching a few rays and napping: DSC_0440-2.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr

All my photos that day are here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157656126136528/

flashguy

I visited Normandy on June 6th, 2018. The extent of the cemetery, which is US territory by treaty, is staggering. The museum has many stories of those who didn’t survive that day. It was a cold, windy, misty day, much like the day of the landings. Standing on the beach, only 100 yards from where the German gun emplacements would have been firing down, due to the aerial and naval bombardments having missed them, contemplating those young men running across 300 yards of that beach, carrying 70 lbs of equipment, seeing all the deaths and maiming, was much more chilling than the weather.

The most upbeat experience was seeing the remaining members of British paratroopers that were visiting on the anniversary. They captured and held a bridge to prevent German tanks from crossing and reinforcing the beaches. They had taken over a bar and were drinking and singing. A lady who had been out at the bar the night before the D-Day with her girlfriends was telling stories of that day and night, translated by her granddaughter.

To this day, the French (and Belgium) people are so grateful to those American troops who liberated them. At those towns, no matter how small, where the Battle of the Bulge was fought, they hold nighttime vigils on the anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, for those troops who gave the ultimate sacrifice so many decades ago. Every one of those towns has a monument to those troops.

One of the best books I've ever read is Sam Fuller's "A Third Face." He was in the third wave at Omaha beach and he starts his description of that day with ...... by then the Germans had got their range down....

Patton’s June 5, 1944 Speech to Third Army…in its entirety.

https://www.revolver.news/2023...patton-movie-speech/

I spent today visiting the Dachau concentration camp. Words cannot describe the horrors committed there. It was surreal to walk through the crematorium. The first room was where a group would be gathered and told they would be taking a shower. The next room is where they would strip naked. Then came the gas chamber. After that the crematorium ovens. To freely stroll through those rooms boggles the mind.

The evil of the regime is why we had to have a D-Day.

My photos of that Normandy visit on 5 Jun 2015 are here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157656126136528/

It was a nice day, but a sobering visit. I'm old, so didn't walk through the graves at the cemetery.

flashguy

I was amazed how the land has been left mostly unchanged in that region. Particularly at Pointe Du Hoc, there are still craters from that day that land owners have never filled. The German concrete bunkers and gun positions send a chill down your spine…imagine being a GI covering that ground under heavy fire or a German defending those areas - it humbles you.