Normandy Part I

At the end of March we took the students to Normandy.  My parents came along and so did our neighbors, Jenny and her two girls, and Sande.  The first day we went to a World War II Museum in Caen to give the students an overview of D-Day and World War II.  Then we drove to Bayeux to see the Bayeux Tapestry and the cathedral in Bayeux.

The Bayeux Tapestry is really an embroidery made to tell the story of William the Conqueror.  It is about 20 inches tall and more than 200 feet long.  It was commissioned by the half brother of William who was the Bishop of Bayeux and was unrolled and hung in the Bayeux Cathedral on holy days to commemorate William's victory over Harold of England.  The detail on the embroidery is amazing and it is one of my favorite things to see in France. 

Breanne and Morgan at Bayeux Cathedral

Bayeux is a cute little town and we had fun shopping and eating there each night.  We had a great hotel that was not a Hotel Etap, which made everyone happy.

Kate, Breanne and Morgan on the Streets of Bayeux

Friday we drove to the D-Day beaches and towns.  We started the day in the tiny village Angoville-au-Plain.  Robert, our bus driver, worked his usual magic to maneuver the bus down the tiny streets into the village.  The little church in the village was used as a hospital on D-Day and the days following.  Two American medics treated both Americans and Germans in the church.  There are still blood stains on the pews.  Stained glass windows have been added in the last decade to the church commemorating  D-Day and the medics.

Church at Angoville-au-Plain

Stained Glass with Paratroopers

The writing on the window below includes the names of the medics and quotes John 15:13 "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend."

Next we went to Utah Beach.  This was the beach where you wanted to land on D-Day.  Fortunately, the ships were blown a bit off course and landed in an area that wasn't as well defended by the Germans and casualties were low.

Jeanene, Paola and Kelly at Utah Beach

Kelly, Rebecca, Hillary, Mary Claire, Phoebe, Sydney, Brooke, Danielle, Kate, Samantha, Audrey, Jeanene,
 Paola, McCall, Madeleine, Ashlie and Christina at Utah Beach

They say there are no seagulls on Utah Beach, even though they are on neighboring beaches.  It is definitely hallowed ground.

Audrey, Sydney, Danielle, McCall, Paola and Samantha at Utah Beach

Audrey Walks Utah Beach

Morgan and Kate on Utah Beach

Across from the beach was a German communications bunker that the Allies quickly captured and converted into an Allied communications bunker.  We couldn't take pictures inside but the original equipment, posters, hammocks, etc. were still there.

Kelly at the Communications Bunker

The 82nd Airborne landed in Ste. Mère Eglise in the middle of a big fire in the town.  The church bells were ringing and everyone in the town was up fighting the fire, so the Americans lost the element of surprise.  A parachute of one of the soldiers caught on the church steeple.  He went temporarily deaf hanging there for hours with the bells ringing until the Germans cut him down.  The town has a dummy hanging from the church steeple in remembrance of the event, but he hangs from the tourist side where people take pictures, not the side where it really happened.

Ste. Mère Eglise

The church had more D-Day stained glass windows.  This one with the paratroopers was beautiful.

There were still marks from where the bullets hit the wrought iron fence around a yard across from the church.

Kate and Morgan at the Wrought Iron Fence in Ste. Mère Eglise

Close Up of Fence

Kate, Breanne and Morgan Dancing Through Normandy

It was only lunchtime at St. Mère Eglise and still more to come so stay tuned.