#5: Normandy Beaches

We woke to a sunny day and several options to ride on quiet roads with the eventual goal of Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery.

There were choices to be made.  By this time, Sheila had found a riding buddy who wanted longer rides at slower speeds, and was just as interested in every detail of history.  Jim had his riding buddies too, who were going a little faster and skipping a few of the side trips.

We all started out together, following Jim in his day-glo orange.  Everyone appreciated knowing where to turn.  But then Sheila and Dawn split off to head to the German Cemetery.

Dawn at one of the many roadside memorials along the way

There is a church in nearly every town, and one is prettier than the next.

Our destination was the German Military Cemetery in La Cambe, which contains the graves of about 21,000 fallen German soldiers.   The land was originally an American Cemetery but was donated to the German War Dead Commission after the American Cemetery at St. Laurent-sur-Mer was established.  Most of the German dead were relocated there after having been buried in scattered places all over France.

A lot of the work in laying out the grounds was performed in 1958 by young volunteers from all over the world working under the motto "Reconciliation over the graves."  It is a peaceful place but totally different that the American Cemetery.

These sets of five black stone crosses dot the land but do not mark specific graves.

Each of these small markers adorns two graves.  Only a handful have any ornament.  And most of the soldiers were heartbreakingly young.

The mound in the center (called a "tumulus"), topped by these somber black statues, commemorates the unidentified and the lost.

We were really glad that we went to this out-of-the-way stop.

We continued on our ride to Omaha Beach and lunch.  Along the way, we saw various collections of the WWII hardware dotting the landscape.  These concrete obstacles, "dragon's teeth," were placed on the beaches to frustrate landings.

As we rode along Omaha Beach, we came to this Memorial to the Brave.

We stopped for lunch along the way, and then we were  back on the road to the American Cemetery.

We had a group tour of Omaha Beach before heading up the hill to the cemetery.  Our guide was fascinating.  But the cows were unimpressed as we headed out to the top of the cliff.

Our guide, Martine, explained to us how the topography of the land made it very difficult to land here. And of course, the German guns and the many obstacles along the beaches made for deadly combinations.

Jim found a long-lost cousin among the dead honored on this memorial.

It all looks peaceful now.

Martine explained the various concrete bunkers and "tobruks," holes in the ground where guns were placed.  The Germans had a concrete factory on the beach not far from here.

The entrance to an underground bunker

Tobruk

Observation post

 Don't be fooled by this view out to sea.  The drop off down to the beach is full of ditches and is so uneven that no tank or vehicle could possibly make it through.

Looking down onto Omaha Beach

Down on the beach

After making our way down to the beach, we climbed back up to the American Cemetery.  There's a nice path for us now.   

Probably every American has seen pictures of this cemetery.  It is amazing.  Every grave faces the sea.  9,328 Latin Crosses, 149 Stars of David.  41 sets of brothers.

The saddest are the ones with no names.

At the west end of the central aisle is this symbolic view.   On the left, the statue representing the United States holds the bald eagle.  On the right, the statue representing France holding a rooster.  Think the rooster is kind of silly?  Ah, but it is the first bird to greet the dawn.  In the center, a church steeple, representing the hometowns for which the soldiers fought.

As we were walking through, it was approaching the end of the day.  The strains of "Taps" sounded through the air as the American flag was lowered.  There was  not a dry eye.

At the other end of the central mall is a Memorial featuring a 22-foot statue, The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves, facing west toward the headstones.

While we were there, a group of veterans commenced a ceremony to lay new flowers at the foot of the statue.  It was a fitting end to the day.