On March 30th Brianna, Amanda, and I flew off to Tours, France! Located in the west/center of the country, we were making this our first stop of a ten day journey. The airport was very small, only one plane could be there at a time. For the first time in my life, I boarded and de-boarded a plane using steps (we felt a little like the President arriving in Tours ha). The city was a lot of fun, with an adorable pedestrian area complete with centuries-old buildings and cobblestone streets. That night we went out for drinks and crepes in a cute town square that was exactly as I had pictured France to look like! The next day we explored the city a little more before catching our train for the three hour trip north to the lovely little town of Bayeux. We arrived pretty late which was unfortunate because the town looked wonderful-I definitely plan on going back some day! We were met at the train station by our CouchSurfing host for the evening, Nicole. For those of you who don’t know what CouchSurfing is, it’s a website where people from all across the world are able to connect with one another and literally offer up their couch for a night or two. It’s a fabulous way to meet locals and share travelling adventures with people you may not otherwise meet. People back home probably thinks this sounds a little sketchy (strangers offering you something for nothing, what’s the catch?!), but it is a legitimate organization! I’m happy to report that our hosts in both cities (Nicole, and Julia in Tours) were both very sweet and made our trip much more enjoyable!
On April 1st we woke up bright and early to go on our D-Day/Band of Brothers guided tour. Anyone familiar with me at all knows that I’m a huge World War II nerd and basically obsessed with Band of Brothers. Ever since I got into history I’d been waiting to go on a tour such as this, so it seemed surreal that the day had finally arrived!
We began our tour at the coastal batteries of Longues-Sur-Mer. These huge guns, high above Omaha Beach, were used to fire on ships, capable of hitting almost any target on the horizon. Next, we moved to Omaha Beach itself. A beautiful stretch of land, it was difficult to fathom thousands of troops struggling to make their way ashore. Little evidence now remains to show that this was one of the bloodiest sites in history. Afterwards we travelled up to the American Cemetery that overlooks Omaha Beach. The only US cemetery in Normandy, there are 9, 387 people buried there. This number, large as it is, does not tell the whole story though, as it is only a proportion of the Americans who died in the region (the others were buried back in the US, as per their families’ wishes). After visiting the museum (which was very well done), we walked outside to pay our respects. The sight of nearly ten thousand white grave markers literally took my breath away. As far as you could look in any direction, there were endless rows of crosses and Stars of David. The only two specific graves we had time to visit were those of two of the Niland brothers (the inspiration behind Saving Private Ryan). I wish we had been able to spend more time there, as a day would have been far more appropriate than only an hour.
Following the cemetery, we travelled further west along Omaha Beach to the sight of a National Guard memorial. Along the way, we passed beach front homes and even a casino, a sight that still confuses and bothers me. While I understand the French wanting to put the past behind them, I think far more respect should be shown with how to deal with these sensitive areas. Off my soap box now, we continued on to Pointe du Hoc. Famous for the Rangers scaling its cliffs on D-Day, the area was heavily bombed prior to the invasion, leaving behind numerous craters and destroyed bunkers. Following lunch, we were brought to the Airborne Museum in Saint Mere Eglise. For about the fifth time that day, I had found a location I could easily spend an entire day in. After restraining myself from buying the entire gift shop (quite a feat, I must say), we drove a little out of town to see the field were Lt. Winters landed on D-Day. We then traced the route he walked out of town, stopping at a few key Band of Brothers locations. First, we saw the field where Lt. Meehan’s (Easy Company’s commander before Winters) plane crashed, along with the plaque commemorating the soldiers who died on board. Second, we visited the farm house where one of the most famous pictures taken on D-Day occurred. A copy of the picture, which features paratroopers holding a captured Nazi flag, was brought along by our guide so that we could pose in the same place as the men did some 68 years ago. Third, we went to Brecourt Manor, where the Germans had hidden several large guns that were firing on the Utah Beach exit. Ordered to take out the guns, Winters and only a few men assaulted the battery and disabled all four guns. The method of attack (you can see Winters’ sketch in my pictures) is apparently still taught at West Point to this day. After viewing the memorial to E Company here, we were allowed to walk into the field and along the trenches where the guns used to be.
Utah Beach was our next stop. Unfortunately we suffered a casualty here, as Desmond, my trusty travel companion, lost an arm. While I found it, this is the reason why he is missing an arm/bat in all of his pictures from this point onwards. After a quick drive through Saint Marie du Mont, we were brought to a tiny church where two American medics treated soldiers from both sides on D-Day. Because of this fact, they were allowed to continue treating the wounded after being discovered by German soldiers. All of the stained glass windows in the church now represent the Airborne, and you are still able to see blood stains in the pews. Our final stop of the tour was in Carentan, the subject of the third episode of the miniseries. Following the tour, we hopped on our train heading to Paris!
To say I had high expectations for the day would be a bit of an understatement, as it had been about ten years in the making. I was more than pleased, that’s for sure! J The places we saw, memorials visited, and museums explored will stay with me for the rest of my life. I hope to one day find myself back in Normandy to continue learning about the sacrifices made there. If you have the opportunity to do something similar, I highly recommend it! Thanks for reading!
Click here for pictures from Tours and Bayeux
Click here for pictures from the Band of Brothers tour
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