Omaha Beach

[mylodon]

Vierville-sur-Mer reminds me of Jersey. The great sweep of the bay, the perfect golden sands and the calm, inviting sea. And like Jersey, there are the signs of occupation, the concrete gun emplacements and fortifications. This is Omaha Beach.



Sixty years ago these sands were covered in soldiers, young men seeking to disembark, to make inroads into the enemy's territory. The shells which salted the area then were not the oysters and scallops I'm stuffing into my pockets. We've parked at the junction of Dog Green and Charlie sectors, the name bringing a silly lump to my throat; Charlie is my pen-name, and my father's Christian name. He fought out in Burma and while I have his letters home to my mother, I still can't bear to break their confidence and read them.



Mulberry Harbour 'A' was here, although little remains. Only weeks after its construction it was largely destroyed, not by the German bombardment but by the forces of nature, a great storm twisting the huge metal structures as if they were coathangers. There is a concrete ramp and that's about all.



We walk the length of the beach, up to where one of the museums is located. Young French cadets are visiting, no doubt paying their respects to those who gave their country its freedom. We watch a film about D-day, stunned at both the newsreel footage and the testimony of those who were present here at Omaha 44 years ago. The scale is unbelievable. The bravery mind boggling.

It seems almost impossible to believe that this area was a war zone. What remains, to indicate the fact? Flags, memorials, two museums. A restaurant where, for the first time on holiday, we find Pepsi rather than coke. Where, uniquely, burgers are on the menu.



This is a delightful holiday beach and if the weather were slightly warmer we'd be bathing, not just paddling and catching crabs. If it weren't for the lads who sacrificed themselves here, we wouldn't even be doing that.

Comments

[emeraldreeve.livejournal.com]

Thank you for sharing the heart-touching pictures and comments! I hope one day to see these places!

[mylodon.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I have more to post, but I have to eke it out. Too moving...

[just-jac7.livejournal.com]

Would be an amazing place to visit. Ash was moved to tears by her recent visits to Auschwitz and Gallipoli.
So hard to imagine the death, destruction and sacrifice during those dark days and how people suffered.
I felt emotional during a visit to Biggin Hill, which is about 5 mins away from my where my cousin lives, where Shaun and I looked around the small church there. The thought of all those young lads and all killed during any conflict, it's a pity we humans never seem to learn from the past - Lest we forget.

[mylodon.livejournal.com]

I bet she was. She'll have that memory forever and it'll make her a better person (not that she isn't pretty special to start with!)

I wish we could learn from the past, truly. So many people killed because of, ultimately, the neurosis of one man and the greed of a nation.

[hockeyvaughnfan.livejournal.com]

I echo the thanks of others for your sharing of your thoughts and pictures

[mylodon.livejournal.com]

Thank you. It seems important to me to share these things, to make some recognition of the effect visiting the sites had. There will be more...