Normandy Invasion Memorials
For the first time ever we are visiting France. One item on our must-see list is Normandy and the memorials there. We spent the day yesterday at all those sites. My overwhelming response is one of awe, and my my advice to every American is to see those sites before you die -- the younger the better. Our 17 year-old daughter calls yesterday her favorite day of the trip.
Just before leaving home I downloaded Cornelius Ryan's The Longest Day. Reading that before and after the visit to the memorials really set the stage for me, intellectually and emotionally. While riding to and from Normandy, I watched this PBS video (available on iTunes), which consists of interviews with veterans of the invasion. It was hard not to tear up while watching those men tell their stories - especially after touring the cemetery at Omaha Beach.
This year being the 70th anniversary of the invasion, there was a lot of attention paid to it. At the main museum in Caen (built, with a sense of irony, I think, atop the bunker used by the German command) there was a large crowd, most of which seemed to be French. There are gardens in the area behind the museum, and they are very well done, quiet and designed for contemplation. I think they were added for the 50th anniversary in 1994. We saw the gardens last. Inscribed in the marble by the American reflecting pool and waterfall were some words that were hard to make out. I got down on my knees and read them slowly to my family:
From the heart of our country flows the blood of our youth
Given to you in the name of freedom.
By the time I got to the last 5 words I was too choked up to read them aloud.
Anyway, if you haven't been, go. I'm going back someday with my older sons.
