Beaches of the D-day invasion

Yesterday was the excursion that I had been looking forward to the most. Finally being able to see the D-day beaches, was overwhelming. The very first day of the invasion 10,000 soldiers died on those very beaches.

We first stopped at the Memorial Museum. The three languages that the museum is in is French, English, German. It started with leading up to the war and through the war. Even being there was overwhelming. They had one room focusing on the concentration camps. In that room there was a picture, full sized, of a girl who had just been hanged. It was startling. At this museum they also had a Nazi flag and other articles. That one flag. What it symbolizes. It was odd to stand in front of it, knowing the ideas that surround it. At the museum the had a short film we watched. It was two sided, one of the preparations and the actually debarqument ( I can't think of the work in english); landing, the other was of the germans, preparing for the day and being bombed. The day they landed, was probably one of the worst days chosen. I can't imagaine first travelling across the ocean, but then landing knowing that you are going to your death. The thought of that is... i don't know. I can't imagine.

We then went to the American Cemetary. It was beautiful. The French goverment gave the land to the United States. It overlooks Omaha Beach and the Ocean. The cemetery is organized quite nicely and really is a lot more beautiful than pictures show. I really enjoyed how the Jewish soldiers had stars of David and not crosses. All of it is so beautiful.

After that we went to Omaha Beach for a few minutes. It was a wonderful sunny, yet chilly day. The beaches themselves are beautiful and if I hadn't known that thousands died here I would've love to run around breathing in the fresh air. But then reality hits that I was standing where someone died. Each step I took, they had taken 65 years ago struggling for their life and trying to kill the enemy. Pictures do not do it justice, and the emotions can't be explained. There is a sense of sadness at all the lives that were lost that day, but also pride in the soliders who went their giving the ultimate sacrifice. I think because we have footage of this war, it makes it so more real. And seeing these beaches did that as well.

We then went to La Point du Hoc. The Germans had quite a bit of artillery here which was pointed at Omaha beach. The Rangers arrived and had to climb the cliffs to get up. In addition the Americans bombed this area like crazy. It was the first place we saw that you really knew war had been there. The craters from the bombings were still there, and they were plentiful. Every few feet there was a new one. And they were huge. Only a few bases of the buildings remain. Seeing this brings the war a new reality.

Our final stop was at the German Cemetery at La Cambe. I was really glad they took us here. This cemetery was so different from the American. It was quite a bit smaller, but had over 22,000 soldiers buried in it, a lot more than the American. Most of the soldiers buried here were about my age when they did. I saw one boy who was 2 weeks short of 18 when he died. It was sad. The cemetery is not as intricate but it was beautiful all the same. There is a monument in the center and at the base, there were flowers from some canadians, some polish people, and some english. It was nice to see that most of the animosity has dissappeared thanks to the European Union.

Yesterday was an emotional and eye-opening day. Its hard to say, after seeing that, that the Germans are the "bad" guys. Because of the Treaty of Versaille, they were forced into a huge depression, and occupied. In the French occupied south, their women were raped requently by the French soldiers and in general they were treated with disgust (this we learned from one of the French history professors who went with us). They were resentful of the English, and French, and even the Russians for doing this to them. How is it not surprising then that this didn't happen? How could you not support some sort of revenge for this treatment? Thats all these soldiers knew, for them it was about regaining the importance of Germany, not about killing Jews. With that in mind, its hard to "pick" sides.

Seeing these places made the war more of a reality. I've always been terrified of war. This makes it so much more. In the states we don't know what it looks like, seeing footage and seeing the actual place are two different things. Even thinking about it now, I hope I may never see something like that. In the states, we have our little comfort zone, we weren't in the middle so its easy to say that we can go to war. But when you see the destruction, see all the graves, and feel the power of the emotions there; its different. It makes you hope for peace so much more.

pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025362&id=1195471084&l=eb1659cab7