Day 11: the Normandy Coast and D-Day Beaches

Today was, by far, my favorite day of the program. We ate a quick breakfast and then headed out on the coach to visit the D-Day museum in Normandy. The museum was amazing, emotionally evoking, stunning, and overall, fascinating. It was built by a French soldier who wanted generations to never forget the horrors of WWII. The museum is set into three parts: the world before 1944, the world June 6, 1944 (D-Day), and the world after WWII. Each part took you through the various political and cultural changes that took place during that time. Images, videos, and artifacts of Nazi paraphernalia were scattered about the museum. I was surprised to stumble upon an entire section on the Dachau concentration camp; the camp that my grandpa helped to liberate during the war. Seeing the horrifying images of lame bodies thrown about in various piles as if they were inanimate objects was quite sobering. I think at this moment I stopped and reflected on my grandpa, realizing that he was a part of the liberation and destruction of a concentration camp. I can't imagine what would drive a culture to accept the systematic and efficient genocide of a human race. The Germans even had a strict definition of a Jew, and individuals could even be born into being a Jew even if they didn't believe in Judaism! The rest of the tour was self guided and I had an audio guide at helped. After the museum, we had lunch and headed to the American WWII Cemetery on Omaha beach in Normandy; the site of the first landings on D-Day. I was surprise to discover that the land was actually given to the Americans by French as a gift of thanks for their liberation from the Nazi regime. I also liked that everything was in English, and secondly in French. The museum showed various medal of honor recipients, had artifacts on display, and played videos of the soldiers lives, giving them a sense of humanity and being behind the helmet. As we finished the museum, which was new and very nice, we walked upstairs to the cemetery. It's quite overwhelming walking out to the cemetery. American flags are waving overhead perfect rows of American graves. It really put things in perspective. 10,000 soldiers died on the beach at day, and they were all buried with dignity and respect here. At the front of the cemetery was a monument and statue dedicated to the soldiers, out of which played our national anthem on a sombre horn. Looking out of the monument, one can see the entire cemetery and reflecting pool. The graves are all pointed westward, towards our beautiful country. Each grave was beautiful, either a cross or star of David, engraved with the soldiers name, unit, and state. It was overwhelming seeing so much diversity on the grave sites, so many states, including my very own Texas. Amidst the graves was a chapel, who's dome inside was brilliantly tiled with an image of America supporting a dead soldier, symbolic of her strength and virtue as a country. After passing through the cemetery, we made our way down to the beach itself. Once we got down, it was hard to believe that, at one point, thousands of bodies were laid dead and blood stained along such a beautiful place. The beach was gorgeous with perfect sand and vibrant blue water. The background of the mainland was just as beautiful. It makes one realize that these soldiers, who fought for our freedom and the freedom of all Europeans, made their way thousands of miles from home to die for liberty and democracy. It too, is sobering. The visit to Normandy made me proud to be an American, proud of my country, proud for what we stand for, proud for our service men, and proud of my grandfather. I have never had so much pride for my country than when I stood atop that cemetery overlooking Omaha beach in Normandy, the site of D-Day, 72 years ago.