Living La Vida Loca

The Normandy Invasion, during World War II involved the Allied invasion of western Europe. It was launched on June 6, 1944 (the most celebrated D-Day of the war), with the simultaneous landing of U.S., British, and Canadian forces on five separate beachheads in Normandy, France. By the end of August 1944 all of northern France was liberated, and the invading forces reorganized for the drive into Germany, where they would eventually meet with Soviet forces advancing from the east to bring an end to the Nazi Reich.

While we both knew something about this monumental moment in history, actually walking the beachfronts where this happened – and learning about the planning, coordination between countries, and the tremendous loss of life that happened during this time – was truly a humbling experience. We had an excellent guide who took us along the beachfront while describing the various key parts of the multi-stage invasion and battle. Neither of us are war history buffs but actually seeing the remnants of these encounters between the Nazi/German forces and multiple Allied countries’ troops was heartbreaking…

German forces had dug into the mountainsides atop a very long stretch of beach, and were able to literally “pick off” soldiers running from military boats and scaling steep cliffs below. It wasn’t hard to visualize the notion that the Allied Forces counted on overwhelming by sheer numbers – but so many young men died in the process – it’s hard to fathom.

[Below: German gun placement and foxhole tunnels built along the cliff]

Part of our tour was to the American and British cemeteries housing the soldiers who perished in WWII – and so many were from the battles in Normandy. I was personally touched to see the recognition of Jewish soldiers. 

I am also thankful that the German people of today recognize the tragedy of what happened here and under Hitler’s regime – and the “never forget” teaching of lessons learned is integral to German society today.

I’m very glad to have been able to bear witness to this incredibly sad loss of life but it did give me hope that – in the end – the horrific prospect of Nazism spread was stopped here. I can only hope that history will never repeat itself.