Omaha Beach D-Day Sites are Touching and Memorable
by Laurie Williams Sowby

Visits with two sons at American Cemetery and remains of German battlements at Point du Hoc inspire feelings of patriotism and gratitude.

OMAHA BEACH, NORMANDY, FRANCE -- It's serene today, looking down the windswept cliffs at the distant ocean. It's an understated contrast to the horror here on June 6, 1944, when Allied troops invaded a 60-mile length of beaches in Operation Overlord.

During the night, 2,700 ships carrying 176,000 soldiers had crossed the English Channel in an effort to surprise the enemy in German strongholds along the coast. By the end of D-Day, it belonged to the Allies, although it would be three more long months of struggle before German soldiers were completely pushed back to the Rhine.

My husband, I, and two sons, ages 15 and 23, have come from the quiet village of Caen this morning -- a pleasant, scenic, 45-minute drive through the countryside. With limited time, we've only made brief stops at the museum in Bayeaux and the British Cemetery there, although signs along roadways indicate an auto tour route to several sites significant to the D-Day invasion. Visitors could spend several days in this area of northwest France, and many American veterans of World War II do. (It's sure to be a little less crowded once the 60th anniversary events are over.)

Leaves rustle in the trees planted throughout the American Cemetery as we view row after row of Christian crosses and symbols of the Star of David. The quiet is punctuated by the sound of sprinklers and lawn mowers doing their part to keep the 172 acres immaculate and green.

There are some 9,387 U.S. servicemen and women buried here, from 49 states, the District of Columbia and Guam. The Unknowns -- those whose remains could not be identified -- number 307. In another area behind the semi-circular memorial colonnade are listed the names of 1,557 whose remains were never recovered.

On the precisely aligned headstones are engraved the name, home state and date of many of them on June 6, 7, or 8. Here and there you see "Known Only to God" -- no name, no date. It's sobering to think most of these were young men, 18-20 years old, whose short lives ended here -- not much older nor younger than the two sons accompanying us.

The poignancy is underscored by a 22-foot bronze statue titled "The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves" which stands in the open arc of the memorial. The colonnade and reflecting pool now have a counterpart in Washington, D.C., in the newly opened World War II Memorial.

At the opposite end of the walkway through the cemetery stands a small chapel. The inscription on its altar reads, "I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish." A colorful mosaic on the ceiling depicts America blessing her sons as they depart to fight for freedom, and a grateful France bestowing a laurel wreath upon American.

The interior walls of the loggia feature maps outlining operations on the beach from March until August 1944 and in western Europe from June 6, 1944, until May 8, 1945.

Just eight miles west on another cliff is Point du Hoc Federal Monument, erected by France to honor the 2nd Ranger Battalion which scaled the 100-foot cliff on D-Day. The battle-scarred German bunkers, gun turrets and lookouts spread over 32 acres there can still be seen today, where grass and tiny daisies have grown over the mounds and craters left by Allied forces. From the point, Omaha beach is visible for miles to the north and Utah beach to the south.

Had time permitted, we would have driven on to Utah Beach -- the other landing site -- and to the village of Saint Mere-Eglise, where an American paratrooper got caught on the steeple of a church during the drop and was eventually shot by German soldiers.

But today we have a rental car to return and a train to catch back to Paris, so we drive back to Caen, one of the heavily devastated villages in World War II that was, amazingly, totally rebuilt afterward. Our remaining time will only allow a visit to Le Memorial de Caen, "a museum for peace," to view films with footage of the D-Day invasion and Battle of Normandy.

We will be content with having seen Omaha Beach and remembering the feelings of patriotism and gratitude we felt at the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer.

To find out more about the American Cemetery, see www.abmc.gov.