BAYEUX, France – Forty-five days after this prediction by Rommel, commander of German defenses along the “Atlantic Wall,” the longest day arrived. On June 6, 1944 – D-Day – U.S., British and Canadian forces stormed across the beaches of Normandy to liberate Nazi-occupied Europe.
For thousands of Allied soldiers, however, that June 6 would turn out to be the shortest day of their lives. Tough, young men, they traveled 100 miles across the churning English Channel and made a history many would never read. First to arrive: the paratroopers, who dropped in shortly after midnight to secure the eastern and western flanks of the landing sites. Then, at 6:30 a.m., just after dawn, the infantry divisions began the invasion of five beaches – known from west to east by the code names Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword – extending 50 miles along the Normandy coast.
The drama of D-Day is re-created in the classic epic “The Longest Day,” by the late Cornelius Ryan, a pre-eminent war correspondent who covered the landings. The book is still popular in Normandy museum gift shops, which sell the title in French, “Jour le plus Long.”
Numerous cemeteries, museums and monuments to fallen Yanks, Brits and Canadians also recall the event, serving as poignant reminders of the price for freedom. Road signs point the way along the Battle of Normandy route, from Pegasus Bridge near Caen at the eastern end, to St.-Mere-Eglise at the western edge.
Bayeux, William the Conqueror’s old Norman capital, is an ideal base for exploring the area’s beaches. The first town the British liberated, Bayeux is one of the few cities to have emerged unscathed by the battle, because German troops had moved on to more strategic locations.
The bucolic Normandy countryside – with two-lane roads, apple orchards, thatched-roof stone farm houses, black-and-white dairy cows, roly-poly sheep and sleek, gamboling horses – stands in stark contrast to the turmoil that took place here nearly 59 years ago.
But leftover German bunkers and gun batteries along the beach sites bring home the reality. One bunker even serves a practical purpose at Utah Beach – it is has been turned into visitors’ restrooms.
Tiny, picturesque St.-Mere-Eglise tugs at the heartstrings with its paratrooper mannequin hanging from the church tower, representing the celebrated image of John Steele. The jumper’s parachute became entangled when he dropped from the skies in the wee hours of D-Day. He played dead, dangling for more than two hours until he was taken prisoner.
A stained-glass window inside the 12th-century church – commemorating the 25th anniversary of D-Day – is undoubtedly the only one depicting the Virgin Mary surrounded by parachutists. Another anniversary window shows St. Michael, patron saint of paratroopers, with the words, “Ils Sont Revenus” (They have come back).
At Pointe du Hoc, French schoolchildren on field trips roll in grassy craters left by bombs and climb through tunnels the German defenders used for protection. It is play for them. It wasn’t for 225 men in the 2nd Ranger Battalion commanded by Col. James Rudder. On D-Day, they scaled a rugged 100-foot cliff with rocket-fired grappling hooks and rope ladders under a hail of gunfire and hand grenades. Fighting for two days, only 90 men remained when Allied tanks came to their rescue June 8.
David Basnier, who leads tours of the Normandy beaches, says young people know something important took place here, but they don’t know the details. Basnier, 30, lives in Caen but grew up in Bayeux and says his grandparents never discussed this period of their lives. His father’s father, a farmer, stayed during the German occupation and was taken in the winter of 1943 to be part of a forced labor group that erected obstacles along what is now Gold Beach.
“I’ve asked questions several times, but they didn’t want to talk about it,” he says.
Basnier says he didn’t fully understand what the Battle of Normandy meant until he started meeting veterans who shared stories of the sacrifices they made.
“I always wondered what kind of life you can have when you come back from the war and you’re 18 and you’ve been through so much already,” he says. “I don’t know. It’s strange.”
Basnier says Normandy visitors sometimes are upset that sites haven’t been kept as memorials.
“Sometimes it’s a shock for Americans to see Omaha Beach. But if we kept all the battlefields as memorial places there would be no place available to live in France, we’ve had so many wars.”
Inscriptions whisper messages of bravery and liberty on monuments throughout Normandy.
At a marker in the middle of “Bloody Omaha,” which the 1st and 29th infantry divisions stormed at dawn on June 6 and where everything that could go wrong did:
“No mission too difficult
No sacrifice too great.
Duty first.”
On a National Guard monument atop a German pillbox at the western edge of Omaha Beach, words from Franklin D. Roosevelt:
“We too born to freedom and believing in freedom are willing to fight to maintain freedom. We and all others who believe as deeply as we do would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.”
At the moving American Military Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer above Omaha Beach, where a bronze statue, “The Spirit of American Youth Rising From the Waves,” soars in a colonnaded memorial: “This embattled shore, portal of freedom, is forever hallowed by the ideals, the valor and the sacrifices of our fellow countrymen.” The first line from the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” encircles the statue’s base: “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory of the Coming of the Lord.”
On the graves of unknown soldiers at the American Military Cemetery, which bear the most telling messages: “Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God.”
On a memorial across from the 4,648-grave British Military Cemetery at Bayeux, the largest Commonwealth cemetery of the campaign. The Latin engraving recalls how the English, defeated in 1066 by William the Conquerer, came back nine centuries later to save the Noman’s homeland.
On a marker at the British Military Cemetery, which says it all about the short life of Private A. Webster. He served in the Green Howards and died at age 18: “At rest in some corner of a foreign field that is forever England.”
The dangers American soldiers faced come alive at Omaha Beach at the American Military Cemetery, which sprawls atop treacherous cliffs the soldiers had to scale. Water of the English Channel laps on the French shore 100 feet below. The peace and tranquility is a dramatic contrast to that ugly and hellish June 6 morning.
This garden of stone contains the graves of 9,387 men, 307 of whom are unknowns, resting forever near the beachhead they won. An occasional Star of David stands out among the Carrara marble crosses planted in symmetrical rows, like soldiers at attention. The cemetery, dedicated in 1956, holds the remains of the Americans who were in eight original burial sites along the beach.
“These young men who sleep their last sleep here have earned in history their places in the first rank of conquerors. When the survivors returned home, the dead remained together, in brotherhood, as they were in battle,” French President Rene Coty said at the dedication ceremonies 12 years after the Normandy invasion. His words are framed in the visitors’ building.
“We do not forget, we shall not forget, the infinite debt of gratitude that we owe to those who have given all for our freedom.”
Marie LaVielle and her husband, Claude, president of the Association Les Fleurs de la Memoire, visit the cemetery one Monday morning in mid-May. “We remember what the Americans did,” Marie says. “We are appreciative.”
The association was started a little more than two years ago, and has adopted 4,000 graves at the American Cemetery. Members, who are from throughout France, pay a nominal fee to visit their adopted grave once a year, bringing flowers and comfort to unknown survivors. Most don’t know the men they are visiting. All they do know is that he gave his life for their freedom and liberty. In some cases, it is the grave of a soldier who helped liberate their village.
Gene Dellinger, superintendent of the cemetery, scoffs at the congresswoman who recently proposed bringing “all the bodies back home” during the icy standoff over the Iraqi war.
“We heard that this person was there to make a name. She certainly made a name,” he says. No one has asked to have a loved one’s remains brought back to America.
“Once anyone comes here and visits the gravesite and understands who we are, what we are, what we stand for, they wouldn’t have it any other way,” he says. “The men and women here are still serving their country every day. They are on duty.”
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If you go
The Normandy area is a two-hour train ride from Paris. Non-stop trains run from Paris’ Gare St. Lazare to Caen, where you can rent a car across from the station.
Where to stay: Bayeux, about 20 miles west of Caen, is a good base for exploring the area. The three-star, 25-room Hotel Lion d’Or, headquarters for the Allied press during the D-Day invasion, is a former coaching inn dating to the 18th century and conveniently located in the center of town. It is moderately priced (132 euros a night, including buffet breakfast) and has an excellent, although expensive, restaurant. The hotel has no elevator, and guests with walking disabilities may find the stairs difficult to negotiate. Telephone 011-33-2-31-92-06-90; www.liondor-bayeux.fr. A Novotel on the outskirts of town is among other hotels.
Normandy beaches: On June 6, 1944, 135,000 men and 20,000 vehicles were brought onto the s hores to liberate Nazi-occupied Europe. The routes of those D-Day landings are marked clearly along the Normandy coast. You can explore them on your own; however, a tour guide for at least a day is helpful. An excellent one is David Basnier, who speaks English fluently. He can be contacted at 011-33-6-11-77-91-46 or davidbasnier@hotmail.com.
Numerous museums along the coast have exhibits about the D-Day landings. One full-priced ticket (4.50 euros) allows reduced admission at the other museums.
Other sites: Don’t miss seeing the Bayeux Tapestry, which is a five-minute walk from the Hotel Lion d’Or. The incredible embroidery work, done in wool on linen canvas during the 11th century, extends for 200 feet inside a lighted glass enclosure. Through audiotapes, visitors can hear the story of William the Conqueror’s conquest of England in 1066.
Mont St. Michel, the famed 11th-century abbey that sits atop an island, is about 100 miles from Bayeux. Before a causeway was built in recent years, the site was unreachable at high tide.
Contacts: Marie-Helen Levine of The French Connection in Denver is a native of France and can help with any arrangements for Normandy or other parts of France. Contact her at 303-388-8125 or mh_levine@att.net.
Other helpful sites: www.westernfrancetouristboard.com;www.normandy-dday.com.
