On Tuesday, I made my second trip to the D-Day beaches, this time with Laura and her family. Our first trip was on the 4th of July — and it was a really amazing place to spend Independence Day.
We started on Omaha Beach in the morning.
Then, spent some of the afternoon at the nearby American Military Cemetery where over 10,000 soldiers are buried. The grounds at the cemetery are immaculate and beautiful. There is an excellent visitor center and it will prepare you a little bit for the humbling sight of all those graves.
Part of the memorial at the cemetery includes huge maps, beautifully made of colored tile, showing where the war movement centered in Normandy, and we were surprised to find out our town of Argentan played a part in the action.
Because it was the 4th of July, there also happened to be a choir at the cemetery — wearing red, white & blue, of course — and singing American patriotic songs. What a treat! As you can imagine, it was pretty much impossible to keep the tears at bay.
The cemetery and memorial overlook the water and it’s such a sacred feeling to walk among the graves, feel the ocean breeze and see the shore where all those boys gave their lives.
