France - D - Day

Monday 6th April 2009

Disclaimer: I am going to claim complete ignorance when it comes to all this war stuff. Dan is the one with the interest. Apologies if I get things wrong. Also, im going to dot point it, so I don't bore not only you, the readers, and myself whilst writing it.

So we had pre-booked rail tickets for the trip to Bayeux. The tour organiser had told us when booking that the earliest train into Bayeux was not until 9.30 and he didn't believe us that there was a 7.15 train. So we were hoping that we were right and he was wrong. Good for us that the train station was right across the street so we only had to get up at quarter past 6. And what do you know, the train was there, right on time. Ner ner ner ner ner tour people. Arrived into Bayeux at about half past 7, but the tour didn't start until 8.30. We found we were leaving from and thought we'd hit up a bakery for some breakfast. We didn't think that everything would be shut. We had to settle for a supermarket. We had to settle for bananas and day old croissants for breakfast. It was adequate. We sat at the square where we were going to be picked up from and ate. Our tour guy, who, incidentally, is a spitting image of Andrew Penna, (for all those who know him) arrived right on time ,as well as the 3 others that were on our tour. All Americans; A couple from DC (He was a bit of a know-it-all and they kept stealing the front seats off us - they should've got there earlier and called shotgun) and a young guy who was on spring break! We all got into the van type vehicle and set off. This is the basic outline of the things we saw:

- Batteries over Omaha beach "Longues-sur-mur" (German's big guns set into cement bunkers
- Omaha Beach (Biggest landing site on D-day)
- American cemetery (Colleville-sur-mer American Cemetery) - 9000+ US soldiers buried there. President Roosevelt's son amongst them. Only 7 US cemeteries outside US, this is the largest. Soldiers were buried here after temporary cemeteries kept flooding and bodies kept floating up. The bodies were exhumed, and identified, and then families had a choice whether to bring body's home or to bury there. Another battery shooting inland along Omaha Beach
- Along Omaha beach to see what was left of the Atlantic wall, portable floating docks, and bridge.
- Pont Du Hoc - where rangers climbed up cliff face. There were 6 guns spots, but only 4 guns installed, only 3 of which were working. Looks like moon; craters everywhere. Destroyed bunkers and bits of cement everywhere
- Drove past hedge wall where the rest of the guns were hidden, ready to be installed into gun spots on Pont du Hoc
- Carenten for lunch - Lots of filming of Band of brothers took place in this town
- Church where British medics worked - even on German soldiers. The church has stained glass windows of paratroopers.
- Drove past where the drop zones where meant to be (although was not where they landed)
- Pratt Memorial - He was the first general to die in the war. He crashed his glider into hedges
- Sainte Mer Eglise - Town where lots of the 101st Airborne division landed. The church has a paratrooper hanging from roof.
- Museum at Sainte Mer Eglise - Had a full size glider inside it.
- Drop zone - flooded fields and plaques (this is about the time, I lost all interest in the tour)
- Beuzeville au Plain. (Memorial to Crash C 47 #66 Lieut. Meehan) Memorial shaped as end of plane. Ashes of dead people and dirt kept inside the memorial
- Utah Beach
- Brecourt Manor paddock - Something to do with Band of Brothers. Funny story with this one - The tour guide held up the fence with a stick so we could get into the paddock and informed us to be careful as it was electrified. The dumb American grabbed hold he then cursed a little "Ouch it really is electrified" Der, he just told us it was
- A quick stop off at "Dead mans corner" museum and surplus shop so spring break kid could buy war stuff. He was the sort of kid you might see on the news someday for doing something bad, if you know what I mean.
- I slept in the van the whole way back to Bayeux.


Once back in Bayeux we made a stop for Neurofen for my worn out brain, and dinner. I had an uncooked pizza, but it had yummy cheese on top, and Dan had an omelette. It was then on the 8.30pm train home for well deserved sleep.