D-Day: 75th Anniversary Reflections

June 11, 2019February 16, 2022 Retired Blogger 0 Comments military spouse, tribute, veterans

As I reflect on my last couple of days in Normandy, France, for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, I’m still struggling to find words. My two days in the most northern part of France comprised of tiny hamlet communities that skirt the English Channel would be a picturesque seaside summer vacation destination, except….

Except that the soft sandy beaches have seen more death than should be allowed.

The gorgeous sheared-off cliffs have watched young men heroically traipse their rock face against horrific odds and suffering far too many causalities.

The hedgerows have hidden and provided God-given mercy to local residents.

The churches have heard the cries of dying men pleading for their God or their mom or their wife.

John Steele parachuted into Normandy and became stuck on the chapel of Sainte-Mère-Église for two hours where he pretended to be dead so the Germans wouldn’t shoot him.

The stained glass window inside the church at Sainte-Mère-Église depicts the units that helped liberate the French from tyranny.

This poppy field lines the walk path on the way to Pointe du Hoc.

I wasn’t sure what to expect as we started our journey from Paris to Normandy, but I prepared myself for overwhelming emotion.

Overwhelming is exactly what I got.

A quick D-Day snapshot (bear in mind that these are the statistics from one single day):

156,000 troops from the U.S., U.K., Canada, Free France, and Norway landed in Normandy
12,000 Allies were killed, wounded, missing, or captured

Day 1 had a start-to-finish whirlwind of D-Day sites to take in. We began at Pointe du Hoc, where the Rangers gallantly climbed a 500-foot rock face amid a shower of grenades and 250 shells from Texas’s 12-inch barrels. They spent 36 hours trying to sweep the Germans from the cliffs to the rocks below.

The cliffs of Normandy that the Rangers of 2nd Battalion had to scale.

One story of 2nd Ranger Battalion Capt. Walter Block said, “The Second Ranger Battalion surgeon, Captain Block, worked tirelessly to help the wounded at Pointe du Hoc. He assisted injured men in the field and at his makeshift battalion aid station in a damaged German bunker. Block received the Silver Star for his efforts. He survived Normandy but was later killed in 1944 by German artillery.”

We will remember.

Bullets are still embedded in the fortifications, leaving behind evidence of the atrocities of the Longest Day.

We next made our way to Omaha Beach, otherwise known as Hell’s Beach. The young men sent to parachute in or storm the beaches were experiencing the absolute longest day of their lives. Costly mistakes in planning led to the soldiers racing an expansive beach at low-tide toward 85 German machine gun nests. Rough estimates say that somewhere between 2,000 soldiers were killed or captured on Omaha Beach in one day.

My children and husband collected sand from the shores, and we bottled it in glass jars.

We will remember.

The last stop for Day 1 was to the American Military Cemetery at Omaha Beach. Rows and rows of 9,380 crosses in precise formation line the immaculately manicured green space. Some bear names; some read “known only to God.” Once a field belonging to a local French farmer, the land was purchased to honor the dead who gave their lives for freedom from tyranny.

American Military Cemetery at Omaha Beach. Some names we know; some names are known only to God.

The granddaughter of this local farmer still works at the cemetery and gives tours to guests who visit. This year, she escorted a 98-year-old lady who had come to Normandy for the first time to visit her beloved brother who died on that horrific day in June.

We will remember.

The next day had us at back at the cemetery. It was June 6, 2019, and we were bearing witness to history during the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

We watched approximately 35 D-Day veterans be honored for their sacrifice and their honor.

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” —John 15:13, NLT

I watched my son step out of crowd to shake hands with a 92-year-old D-Day veteran and say, “thank you for your service, sir,” to which the gentleman sweetly told my son the secret to his long life was that he “didn’t ever curse, didn’t ever drink, and never ate a vegetable.”

I stood with tears running down my face as I touched another veteran on the arm and said, “thank you for your service.” Then he took my hand and looked in my eyes, and he replied, “thank you for yours.”

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.” —General George S. Patton

I was humbled and introspective as French President Macron thanked the American people for giving up so much to liberate France. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so much joy and pride in being American. It’s our duty and our responsibility to not forget the sacrifice of so many Americans to a cause so much greater than one nation or one military.

President Harry S. Truman said, “Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid; they have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices.”

All photos courtesy of Tiffany Boyce.