Normandy

Normandy is beautiful countryside.

Our trip was amazing.

It's strange saying that, given the nature of what we went there to see.

It's almost impossible to imagine what went on there 71 years ago. But we tried. Just to be there is completely humbling.

I don't remember feeling much of anything when I learned about D-Day and World War II in school. In fact, I don't really even remember when I learned about it, what grade I was in or any of the details. As we walked from site to site and museum to museum, reading story after story of what really went on, I thought how terrible it is that I didn't feel emotional about anything that happened until I was standing right on the Normandy landing sites at age 30.

As I got older and saw my brother going through ROTC and what he was preparing to do in the wake of 9/11, I developed a deeper appreciation for our military and eventually my own desire to serve my country. But as we walked through the Normandy American Cemetery the morning before we drove back to Calais, after 2 days of absorbing what D-Day REALLY meant for the U.S., Europe and really the world, I listened to a French tour guide explain to a group of young American kids the importance of what the U.S. military fought for and defended during that time, that the freedoms and values we have today were protected by them and why we must always remember what they did, and tears rolled down my face. It was powerful. This French woman had such a deep appreciation for that day and that War and our country. And I felt like I had never appreciated any of it nearly as much, until I was standing in the middle of the American Cemetery.

Normandy American Cemetery. There are 9.400 graves there, out of 407,000 U.S. military who died during WW2.

That might sound strange. I'm patriotic. I was in the military. I miss serving my country. My husband is in the military. I completely support the military and appreciate all that they do. There are so many ways to support the military, whether it is monetarily, through volunteer groups, serving yourself or being that supportive spouse, family member or friend. But I realized for me that is the *easy* part. All the brave ones who are gone...it's those who we must make ourselves remember and think about. Of course we don't forget about those who we knew personally or are connected to in some way, but every life lost is so very important and I know I do not think about that often enough. After this trip, that became clear to me. I felt everything very deeply that weekend.   

Every soldier who gave their life deserves our remembrance on a more individual level. Every unknown and missing solider has a name and loved ones without closure and they deserve our remembrance on a more individual level, not only as a collective group we call POW/MIA. 

The blood that was shed for liberation is absolutely astounding.

The steps we walked from Omaha Beach up to the Cemetery

Can you imagine this beautiful water as the 'Bloody Omaha?' It's so incredibly sad. But don't we owe it to our men to remember when it wasn't so beautiful?

We had lovely French hosts at a home on Omaha Beach. Emmanuel served us a fresh, delicious breakfast at whatever time we chose both mornings. He talked with us and helped us make the most of our time, gave us a book of information to reference and treated us like friends when he made us a reservation at the nice local restaurant down the street. We went back there for dinner the second night and I think the staff were pleased we enjoyed Normandy and dining with them so much, giving us some Calvados on the house :) Everyone we met was so friendly.

Here are my trip pictures on Flickr. I wanted to capture everywhere we went, and even some of what I read. So sometimes there are pictures with a lot of words that you would have to zoom in to read, but you might find some of it interesting. Even all the information on landing vehicles, trucks and tanks starts painting a picture of just how massive the operation was. 

This trip was one of my favorites ever, and I know that it probably always will be. It made an impact on me that I will be forever grateful for.