The Pointe du Hoc is well known for the price Americans paid to win it. Here you see the marker detailing what occurred.
Looking at the jagged edges of the area today can help you see how difficult a task it was.
If you look closely you can see the grass covered craters left by the shelling over 50 years ago.
Today Utah Beach is a much calmer area. Omaha Beach still had lots of activity but the sounds of today were children playing while others sunbathed, sailed, swam and enjoyed the peace so harshly won.
Still reminders of the war are never far from the French minds or sights. These three pictures show some of the German shore batteries which provided a silent testimony to War. The first two are from Saint-Marcouf. You can see how huge these were. The third is a fortification in Saint- Marcouf-Crisbecq.
Our visit to Coleville sur Mer and the American Cemetery was truly awesome. Its rows of white markers sloping toward Omaha Beach represent less than 39 percent of those who died landing there in 1944.
Even today it is easy to see the steep terrain as you look down on Omaha Beach from the cemetery.
Our second day took us from Saint Mere Eglise to Cherbourg and Saint Lo. The church in Saint Merie Eglise has a model parachutist hanging from the steeple representing the American who landed in that fashion in 1944.
Inside the church are two stained glass windows depicting events. If you look closely you can see the parachutes in the glass.
We visited the 82nd Airborne Museum there as well. Father George Wood with whom Mr. J's father worked in Fort Wayne, Indiana was in that unit in 1944. These pictures show items donated by him in the museum.
Saint Lo was devastated by the war. Here you can see the church. Its tower survived the bombings and the central wall has been reconstructed.
These Medieval fortification walls were unable to protect the people of Saint Lo in World War II.
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This page is this work of Mr. Bruce M. Johnson.