Normandy - The Omaha Beach Part

Our last continental stop before heading back to Southampton was Le Havre, France.  

This was the excursion I was most looking forward to before the trip.  

Because Le Havre is the port where I'd get to see Omaha Beach.  

Before France was a unified country, Normandy was it's own dukedom, which passed in and out of British control from the time of William the Conqueror (who was Norman, after all) until 1450.  

There are a lot of statues and memorials we could see from the bus.  

Oh, how I would have loved to have time to hit a couple of these museums!  :sigh:  Next time, maybe.  

We arrived at the beach, got off the bus, and saw this large monument.  

The many flags of the Allies fly along either side of it.  

What I found really interesting is that many of the houses in the little towns by the beach actually fly both the French and the US flags.  It's humbling to realize they not only remember that we came to their aid during the occupation, but they still appreciate it.  I also spotted a couple EU flags, so maybe they just really like flags, but I like my version better.  

The main monument down on the beach.  

I walked down to the water.  It's easy to understand how so many of the invasion forces perished that day.  The Germans were entrenched on the cliffs, and the Allies had no cover at all as they had to cross the wide open beach to get to them.  It's literally the sheer mass of invaders that made us successful in the end.  

It was a somber place and a moment of remembrance.  

Coming back, I saw the other side of this monument and realized, hey look!

Sam is currently assigned to The Big Red One.  I didn't realize they were one of the divisions present that day.  

That concrete box?  Used to have a big, German gun in it.  

Whew!  This visit was emotional.