Sabrina was up and gone to work before we arose. Rui greeted us with a good morning and a cup coffee. We had settled into the vacation mode, rising after Rui had completed his daily ritual of walking downtown to have a cup of coffee and read the morning paper. We said our goodbyes with promises that we would see each other soon. What a wonderful weekend it had been.
The car pointed east, and we headed towards one of the June 6, 1944 invasion beaches. Utah Beach would be our goal for the day, but we would have a few planned stops before we reached it. What we did not know was how many unplanned stops we would have. We had been in the car for only minutes when we saw the marker for Bloody Gulch. It would not be until later that we would hear the stories of one of the most gruesome battles of the invasion. Staying on country roads in the middle of nowhere there would be a monument and flags. Our first stop of the day would be here.
It would be in this field next to a small bridge that PFC Charles DeGlopper of New York gave his life and for his actions that day he was awarded the Medal of Honor. The story on the plaque retold the story of bravery that seemed inconceivable for a mortal.
Only 100s of yards away we crossed a small bridge across the Le Merderet river. Not much wider than a creek it was one of the only two places the allies cross the flooded fields of the countryside. The Germans had opened the locks and flooded the fields. On a hillside is another memorial park that pays tribute to the 82nd Airborne and their stand to hold the bridge. Their leader, LT General (Brigadier General at the time) James Gavin commanded the 82nd in the battle of La Fière and Chef du Pont is honored with stone in the park. The inscription on the bottom says it all about this man. There were many other heroes honored here and we took the time to read each one’s story.
There were many other roadside pull-offs on our journey. Each recounted an incident, an act of bravery, or a strategic geographical victory. They all had one thing in common – An American Flag, A French Flag, and the combat unit who is honored. One can spend a day stopping at each one of these locations and never even get to a museum.
The town of Sainte-Mère-Église, which many of you will remember from the classic movie, The Longest Day was our next stop. It is here where Paratrooper John Steele had the misfortune to land on top the church and was suspended above the battle below him for hours. He was surprised when he returned to Sainte-Mère-Église twenty years later to find himself memorialized, and still hanging from the roof.
PFC Clifford Maughan also had the misfortune to land in the garden of a house the Germans occupied. His story had a very strange twist. It is also recorded on a plaque in town in front of the house he was held prisoner, albeit briefly. These two events are examples of the crazy events on the longest day.
The next stop is a fairly new museum called the D-Day Experience. Located not far from Saint-Côme-du-Mont, the museum sits upon a hill overlooking Deadman’s Corner. This small intersection saw some of the heaviest fighting after the landing. It is located just on the outskirts of Carentan which was the planned rallying point. It gained its name because of a solider who was killed remained situated on the tank for three days. The battle continued to rage on around the fallen, and orders and directions were given in reference to the dead solider on the tank, or Deadman’s corner. The identified of the fallen tank crew member is still being debated today.
We had heard so may positive things about the D-Day Experience and were excited to enter this interactive museum. An excellent movie on the events of June/July 1944 was in 3D and was broadcasted in multiple languages, depending on the setting you chose on your headphone. Sometimes it was discomforting just because it seemed so real. Following the movie they have a C-47 mounted on hydraulics that makes this flight simulator come alive. The neat part is you are in the back of the plane like a paratrooper to support the landing. You get a full briefing from your commanding officer, and then you must strap in – it is quite a ride. Motion, sounds, views out the window, smells, smoke, and the lack of light, and the barrage of anti-aircraft flak made this 20-minute ride an experience to be remembered.
Following our paratrooper experience we explored the exhibits. There is so much to see and read and it is all done so well. The D-Day Experience hands down was worth the admission.
In France after 2 pm it is hard to find something to eat. We left the museum and headed down what was nicknamed by US soldiers “Purple Heart Highway” into Carentan to find food, but all was closed. Turning around we now set out for Utah Beach. We found a brasserie right on the beach, but the kitchen for a full menu was closed. Our eyes widen when we found out croque monsieur sandwiches were available. A cold beer, croque monsieur, and a bathroom pit stop was exactly what we needed.
We found out from the photos on the wall that the building the brasserie was using was there and survived the Utah Beach landing. The bar was full of memorabilia from the war and the walls were covered in notes. Many of the wall scribblings were from soldiers who landed that day.
We headed out over the dunes to where the landing took place. We both stopped in our tracks, totally amazed how far it was from the tide line to the objective. There is a lot of sand from the water to the dunes which would provide some safety.
A landing craft with exiting soldiers is one of the first things one sees as they step onto the beach.
We walked the beach, listening to the surf, and looking at the sand where so many had fallen. It was very peaceful, and we felt lucky to experience this place without 1000s of other people on this day.
The wind was howling, and the temperature was dropping, so it was time to get off the beach and begin heading to our B & B.
On the way, we made one more stop to take in this memorial which honors the members of the French Resistance. They did so much to make the first few hours of invasion to be successful.
It was a short drive to our B & B, Manoir de la Riviere, which is run by Bénèdicte’s oldest sister Isabelle and her husband Gérard. This is Gérard’s family home, and the manor house was built in the 12th century. Yep, we are talking old!
Isabelle gave us a tour of the house and we settled into the breakfast room for some amazing pistachio cookies and coffee. We caught up with Isabelle since her last visit to Virginia and told stories of Bénèdicte.
Isabelle made reservations for us at wonderful seafood restaurant very close to the house. We went upstairs to our room and cleaned up for dinner.
The one thing that amazed us about Normandy was that nothing seems that far away. We arrived at the restaurant at 7:30 and it was empty. By the time we left at 9:30 it was packed. If you are considering travelling to Europe, your dinner routines will be adjusted.
Dinner was excellent with Janet going for a salad and scallops and Tom with oysters and a John Dory fish which he had never had. All of this was washed down with a Pouilly-Fume. A wonderful dinner indeed.
We arrived back at Manoir de la Riviere to find our entrance being guarded by a chicken. We will rest tonight knowing we are safe. Tomorrow we will explore Omaha Beach and so much more!
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A few links if interested in more info:
Manoir de la Riviere:
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