Visit to Omaha Beach, the Normandy American Cemetery and Pointe du Hoc.

[Sylvain]

I visited the Normandy American Cemetery today.

That's one of the largest WW2 American cemetery, the largest in Normandy, with other 9,000 graves and the names of over 1,000 soldiers missing in action.

It it right next to Omaha Beach, were many of the soldiers buried there have died.

With Memorial Day approching the grounds were covered with US and French flags.
Memorial Day will be celebrated Sunday (tomorrow) at that cemetery so today some soldiers, both US and France, were rehearsing.

 

[Dead Duck]

That's really something.
Thanks Sylvain for bringing it closer for us that can't make the trip.

Post at will, soldier.

 

[Sylvain]

Omaha Beach is visible from the cemetery grounds.

There are steps leading to the beach but they were closed today for "security reasons".Not sure if it's due to the Memorial Day ceremony or not.

There's a chapel in the middle of the cemetery ...

The engravings on the walls of the chapel are not easy to see in person, and are barely visible in pictures.
Not sure why they didn't paint the letters black or gold like in some other areas.

Inside ...

 

[Sylvain]

I'm not sure why some of the pics are smallers and others larger.
You can enlarge them all by doing a right click, then "open image in new tab" to see the full picture more clearly.

 

[Trigger Time]

Thank you Sylvain. Very moving. We will never forget!

 

[possum_128]

Thanks so much. My dad was one on the lucky one's to make it off that beach to carry the fight to the Nazi's.

 

[Sylvain]

There are two large flag poles with the American Flag on top ...

Today two French soldiers (Navy and Army) were practicing standing guard at the base of the flag.

 

[Sylvain]

[FONT=&amp] On the Walls of the Missing, in a semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial, are inscribed 1,557 names. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified.[/FONT]

 

[Kutnupe14]

Awesome. Thanks for sharing.
Just out of curiosity, are there German military graves in (or around) Normandy? Or were they repatriated shortly after the war?

 

[Dead Duck]

Awesome. Thanks for sharing.
Just out of curiosity, are there German military graves in (or around) Normandy? Or were they repatriated shortly after the war?

I hear they got repurposed as fertilizer for the memorial's gardens.

 

[Sylvain]

There's a small visitor center at the entrance, fairly new (built in 2007) ... sadly there's a metal detector at the door and a "TSA style" screening.So I decided not to visit that part as it wasn't very freedom-like ... I just looked thru the glass.
It's just a room where you can sign the visitor's book if you're willing to get searched and wait in line, which I wasn't willing.

People have to go in one by one so you have to wait a while.

Not sure why it's even there.It's just a chocke point providing a target reach environment due to the people waiting in line.And the security is unarmed and unable to stop an armed individual with ill-will intents.

It seems other people turned around when they say they had to empty their pocket and get their bags xrayed just to sign a book and look at a couple of pictures.


There's no control watsoever to access the rest of the cemetery and other buildings like the restrooms.

 

[Kutnupe14]

I hear they got repurposed as fertilizer for the memorial's gardens.

Boo DD.

 

[Dead Duck]

Hey, I'm German and don't mind a bit.
And I would like to know the answer also.

 

[Sylvain]

Awesome. Thanks for sharing.
Just out of curiosity, are there German military graves in (or around) Normandy? Or were they repatriated shortly after the war?

There's a large German military cemetery with thousands of graves right next to the American one (few miles away).
They are not advertised as much though.
All the signs and the US flags point you to the US one.

They have small black crosses marking the graves, a lot just have a flat stone.

There are a few British, Canadian and French military cemeteries in the area too.

 

[Sylvain]

Now leaving the cemetery on my way to Omaha Beach.

I stopped to look at some tanks in front of a nearby museum.

 

[Dead Duck]

Ha

 

[Sylvain]

Tank on a mobile bridge ...

 

[Leadeye]

Great pictures and story Frenchman, I would imagine that even today some remains are still being recovered.

 

[Sylvain]

Ha

 

[Sylvain]

Great pictures and story Frenchman, I would imagine that even today some remains are still being recovered.

Remains, unexploded ordnance, guns, vehicles (in lakes, sea, old barns, woods), bunkers etc ... things are found every year in large quantity.

In most areas it's forbiden to dig and very dangerous.