Travelogue: Normandy Beaches

I just finished Stephen Ambrose's magnificent D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II, and thought it appropriate that I incorporate it into my post on visiting the Normandy Beaches in August.

After Mont St Michel, we drove across the Cotentin peninsula to the Normandy beaches, where we would spend three nights in the lovely little fishing village of Port-en-Bessein, which will be getting its own post later on, and is between Omaha and Gold beaches.

We stopped enroute at Utah Beach, the westernmost part of the D-Day landings because our tour the next day didn't include it and we wanted to see it. We didn't have time to visit the museum, but instead opted to sit on the beach and eat the sandwiches we picked up in Mont St Michel and enjoy the beauty of the place.

A very striking monument at Utah beach, showing a replica of a Higgins boat.

The next day we did two tours with Bayeux Shuttle -- the morning focused on the British beaches and cemeteries, and the afternoon focused on the American beaches, ending with a visit to the American cemetery. I'm usually not one for tours, but I felt that this would really be the best way to get to the most interesting sites and get good info from an expert. 

The tours were both fantastic--definitely the right choice. In the morning, my husband and I were the only ones on the tour, so we had the very personable and knowledgeable guide all to ourselves. We got to ask loads of questions, and he gave us a first rate intro to D-Day. In the afternoon, the American tour had about a dozen people and so was less personal but still excellent.

We started at Longues Sur Mer and I got my first view of the German pillboxes, or batteries that shelled the beaches on D-Day.  The ground around was cratered by the aerial bombing that the Allies did leading up to D-Day, and it was eerie to walk inside and stand behind the guns.

We also visited the town of Arromanches (Gold Beach), and I was absolutely fascinated by the remains of "Port Winston," which was a Mulberry (or temporary) harbor that the Allies constructed  since there isn't a natural harbor in the immediate area.

Arromanches, Gold Beach - absolutely lovely, would love to return and spend some time here.

WWII remnants- full disclosure, my husband photoshopped the people out of this image. 

We ended our morning with a visit to one of many British cemeteries, which included casualties from Great Britain as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and also German troops. Not a lot, but some. Unlike the American cemetery, the gravestones are not uniform, and family members were able to add a few words (usually scripture or poetry) to the vital information. 

Ryes British War Cemetery

In the afternoon, we visited Pointe du Hoc, a cliff overlooking the beach, and then Omaha Beach. Omaha is a spectacularly beautiful beach, and since we visited on a hot August day, it was crowded with people playing in the surf and sun. Our guide made a point of saying that while sometimes visitors are a bit shocked that people are playing where so many thousands died, it is a fitting tribute to the cause for which they died that the beach can today be enjoyed by everyone.

Memorial at Omaha Beach with people photoshopped out.

We ended the day at the exquisite American cemetery, where we observed the flag ceremony at the end of the day, which was very moving.

During our morning tour, I asked the guide for a book recommendation and his number 1 choice was D-Day by Stephen Ambrose. It was absolutely excellent, with most of the narrative being snippets of interviews the author conducted with veterans of the landing. The stories they told surpass anything that a novelist could create and reading their words was inspiring, chilling, and incredibly moving. Ambrose did an first-rate job of putting the invasion into context--from the massive preparation, including years of training and scouting right up to the last minute--as well as his own analysis of why it succeeded, what the Allies did right and what the Nazis did wrong. 

I was so glad that I was able to visit Normandy before reading the book as the place names and geography and feel of the land and sea helped me better understand the stories that the soldiers told of their experiences.

Undaunted Courage

Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen Ambrose was everything I had hoped it would be. Inspiring, enthralling, and enriching, I absolutely loved reading about the trip to the Pacific and back that Lewis and Clark made just over 200 years ago.

I only had two issues with the book. First, I felt a bit let down that every aspect of Meriwether Lewis's life was explored in detail, but scarcely any of William Clark's was. To be fair, the title does say that the book is about Lewis, Jefferson, and the West, but since I always think of Lewis & Clark as a duo, I assumed that they would be treated equally.

Second, I used to be an ardent Jeffersonian, but then I started reading bios of Hamilton, Washington, and Adams, and I felt that Ambrose was somewhat unscholarly in his obvious adoration of Jefferson and the corollary slighting of John Adams, my new favorite forefather. We all have our biases, but Ambrose's irked me somewhat.

Once I got over these two slight hurdles, I fell in love with the book, and had to get a copy of the coffee table companion book Lewis & Clark: Voyage of Discovery so I could study the maps and gaze at the photos of landmarks along the journey that still exist today, some even in much the same condition as when L&C first encountered them.

There is no doubt that Lewis's story is a fascinating one and ultimately tragic. Despite his manifold talents and skills as well as the personality that enabled him to lead an expedition safely across an unchartered continent, his personal demons of depression, alcoholism, and self-doubt and self-indulgence drove him to destroy himself and, for a long time, his reputation.

With Lewis, it's difficult not to be overwhelmed by his early and tragic suicide and so overlook the years he spent as Jefferson's companion, secretary, and protege as he prepared for the voyage of discovery that Jefferson shaped with only him in mind. Next to the expedition itself, I found it fascinating to read about how Lewis planned the journey--how he decided what to take, who to take, and when and where to embark. He read extensively in a number of different scientific fields so that he could knowledgeably report on what he and Clark discovered, and Jefferson arranged for him to be tutored by leading experts in many of the fields.

This was truly a wonderful book that gave me a better understanding into the politics and geographic realities and dreams of America shortly after its founding, and it provided a fascinating portrait of a great and tragic American whose influence has been unacknowledged until fairly recently.

Here's a lovely image of Lewis with his dog, Seaman, who made the journey with the Corps of Discovery.

Now, I want to read a bio of William Clark as well as watch the Ken Burns film on Lewis & Clark.