A little background history for my Grandkids:
On June 6, 1944 a successful invasion took place there that was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. It was commanded by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower (later became President) and the invasion was called “Operation Overlord,” or as we know it as “D-Day.”
Over 100,000 Allied troops, made up by American, British, and Canadian troops, landed along Normandy bay at five different beaches on that June 6th day.
Now a few questions for my Grandkids to look up (go to http://www.enotes.com/topics/d-day for some answers.
1.How many ships carrying men and vehicles were there?
2.How many planes were there that carried men to parachute in?
3.How many men jumped out of those planes in parachutes?
4.How many planes dropped bombs on the Nazi German troops defending the beaches?
5.Who was the Nazi German leader the Allies were fighting against?
We walked along the shore where all of this took place. It was really hard to visualize all those troops invading on that single day but how important that was for the freedom of France.
As we walked up from the shore, we saw many of the bunkers that the Nazi Germans had made to fight from. We could still walk in some of them.
Some were very large rooms that lots of items (guns, ammunition, etc) could be stored.
There also stood two monuments in a small park area that overlooks Utah Beach. It honors the achievements of U.S. Corps that fought there.
A little further up the hill from the beach, the USA have built a very, nice building called the “Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.” With artifacts, videos, etc., it depicts the significance and meaning of “Operation Overlord” and honors the values and sacrifices that took place there.
The grounds around the visitor center were beautifully maintained along with the cemetery of the fallen servicemen and women. It was an emotional area to visit but it reminded us of how important freedom is to us all.
