Normandy, France

It was such a privilege to be able to stand in such historical places and see first hand so many sacrifices, beyond belief, that were made.

We did begin our day by visiting a local patisserie for eclars, one of our favorite French foods.

Our first stop on our WWII tour was the Overlord Museum. Overlord was one of thr mission names on D-Day.

Next, and the most humbling experience was the American Cemetery near Omaha beach. It was a beautiful tribute to the American soldiers who sacrificed their lives to stop chaos in the world and the Nazi regime. Seeing the crosses was a stark reminder of just how many lost their lives.

Point du Hoc was next on our walk through WWII history. Being in the very location where troops stormed the beach of Omaha and ultimately pushed back the Germans was incredible. We were able to see huge craters in the ground left by bombs, old bunkers, and the very cliffs that the U.S. Army Rangers scaled to be able to complete their mission.

We then traveled the French countryside to the town of Angoville-au-Plain. In this town in Normandy, two medics from the 101st Airborne Division created a makeshift aid station in the local church. The pews in the church remain blood stained and after the windows were blown out during the war they were replaced with stain glass of the paratroopers.

We stopped by another town inflicted with the scars of WWII, Angoville-au-Plain. There we found another delicious patisserie for a sweet treat and another church with stories of the past.

The next town we visited was Sainte-Mere-Eglise. Here a paratrooper, John Steele, is forever remembered and memorialized. When the paratroopers jumped in they took heavy fire and most did not hit their target landing mark. John Steele’s parachute got stuck on the steeple of the church. He played dead for several hours until he knew the coast was clear. The church now has a statue that hangs as if he is still there. This town was the first liberated town after troops landed. The town had one of the coolest museums I have ever been to. The Airborne Muesuem has a model plane you can stand in that simulates the jump into Normady. It also had an incredible amount of information about the paratroopers.

We took to the road to see Utah beach, another beach the US troops entered on D-Day. We found more bunkers used during WWII and explored the coastline.