So where did we leave off? Ahh, yes. We slept the night away at the Holiday Inn Republique. Well, the boys and I did. Dan had a rough night. That chicken that I told him not to eat caught up with him. He felt almost back to normal the next morning and was ready for breakfast. Good thing because it was awesome. Again, I’m telling you, great place to stay. It’s worth the breakfast alone. The room was large (by European standards), clean, staff was very courteous and the breakfast was to die for. We ate our fill and then hit the road. Another major plus about this hotel is a secure parking garage right behind it. It was about $30 US, but handy.
Mappy.com gave us a road that we never found. Imagine our surprise when we found ourselves driving down the Champs-Elysées towards the Arch! If you had told me we would be doing this I’d have been a nervous wreck. Two things were on our side. It was Saturday morning and it’s August. Most Parisians are on vacation and most tourists don’t drive there. As you can see from the shot through the windshield, there was no traffic. Yeah for us!!! Now Dan has bragging rights that he drove around the Arch de Triomphe.
It was only about 2 1/2 hours to Bayeux in Normandy. We stopped to visit the tourist office and then headed out to Omaha Beach where my grandfather landed 61 years ago.
That handsome bloke on the far left is my dear Gramps. Here’s a picture I took of Roy and Jean (I love being named after my grandmother) a couple of years ago up on their mountain in New Hampshire:
How cute are they? I can’t wait to get to Ft. Drum so I can spend more time with them.
But I digress…. So… we’re headed to Omaha Beach. Words cannot begin to describe the feeling I had being on this beach where so many fell. Here’s Daniel and Joe exploring the bunkers the Germans used. They line the coastline all the way around France.
As much emotion as I felt as I looked out towards the British Channel, it couldn’t begin to prepare me for what I felt when we walked into the American Memorial Cemetery. As luck would have it, we walked in only 45 minutes before they were closing. Dan was asked to help lower the flag. What an honor.
As he was helping to lower it, a woman that works there came up to me. She said it was their honor that a soldier was helping to lower and fold the American flag. I assured her it was the other way around. If she knew how patriotic my husband is she’d have understood totally. She asked what brought us to Normandy. I explained that my grandfather had been there and I thought it was important for the boys to see it and that I’d promised him I’d take pictures for him so he can see it in peace. She turned to me and looked me directly in the eyes. With all sincerity she said, “Give your grandfather a message from me, indeed, all of France and really, all of Europe should be on their knees thanking him and all those that liberated us” I could barely reply because I was so choked up. I promised her that I’d relay the message.
In the next post I’ll tell you about the journey around Brittany and our visit with Nilda and family. I leave you with my favorite picture from the trip:
Wow, it seems like you had a really special time in France. I still find it impossible to imagine the magnatidue of what happened in WW2. We really don’t know how lucky we are to live in “Peace Time” (despite any attempts by terrorists to start another war).
Thanks for the photos! I visited the American Cemetery in Luxembourg when I was younger — in my 20s — and I can’t put into words the impact that being there had on me. Same trip I drove through the Ardennes Forest. Memories that I will never forget.
Absolute chills reading your post and “watching” Dan fold the flag. Our neighbor in MA fought in that war…the stories he told. Sigh. What an incredible experience.
What a lovely post. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
I’m glad you had a great trip to France. Your post brought tears to my eyes. The woman who works at the cemetary is absolutely right. Americans as well should be eternally thankful for what soldiers did and sacrificed during the war (and continue to do today).
Look up http://www.loc.gov/vets and see if you can’t interview your grandfather (and your grandmother if she was involved in the war effort in any way). I’ve done some interviews with these guys for the Veterans History Project and it’s wonderful the stories they have to tell. I’ve had them tell the funniest stories — and the saddest, where even now they wept as they remembered.
Actually your husband would be eligible too — and you if you were active during any of the 20th century conflicts. You did say you were in the Army, didn’t you?
bibliotecaria
Oh my, I can barely type for the tears. I am sure Dan will remember this moment for a long time. So glad your GRandfather will be able to see a photo of the boys there in peace time.
A moving experience. The highlight of your trip I’m sure.
Last fall while in Italy, we visited the WWII Florence American Cemetary. I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of crosses. I was quite overcome. Thank you for sharing.
It takes a lot to bring tears to this ol’ grrls eyes, but you sure did so today. Thanks Jean for reminding me of the sacrifices made for us, for all of the world. Amen.
Wow I am speechless. What a touching post.
A couple years ago we visited Pearl Harbor. And going out to that memorial was overwhelming in every sense of the word. Nobody spoke a word. It was very moving.
Jean, I’m really tearing up right now, and it seems from reading your comments I’m not the only one. What an incredible honor for Dan, and a special experience for the boys to see the spot which is so signifigant to the world, and of course deeply personal to your own family. Your pictures are truly moving. Thank you.
Wow, what does Brittany have in store!?!?!
Tell Dan America couldn’t of picked a finer soldier to fold that flag. We all need to remember the living soldiers as well as the dead. Sometimes the survivors don’t get alot of credit, for all they did. Some soldiers didn’t die in battle, but spent the rest of their lives reliving battle wounds. And for all the mothers who lost sons wether in battle or to anything else, their country owes them for raising such fine men. To be an American means something today because of what they all have given. Dan that day represented us all, and did it with pride and dignity. Thanks Dan.
What an incredible post! Thanks *so* much for sharing it! hugs!
What an amazing experience! It’s so wonderful that you were able to take your boys there. When I was in Italy, I visited the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, and I’ll never forget it. Can’t wait for the next vacation installment!
Oh, Jean, that post just made me sob. Thank you for sharing that. I just put a photo of my adopted soldier (serving in Iraq) on my blog today, so that *really* hit home for me. I’m sorry your husband got sick on the trip! But the photos are excellent. Your grandparents are TOO cute. 🙂
I’m reading your post while at work and I’m at my desk in tears. Thanks so much for the post and the photos.