D-Day Invasion, Normandy is commemorated in Europe every year on the 6^th of June. The American, French, Canadian British and other allied countries’ soldiers who fought gallantly and died to liberate France and the whole of Europe on this day in 1944 are honored and remembered.










In my high school days whenever the subject in our history class was on World War II the emphasis was on the struggle and sufferings of Filipinos during that period and the liberation by the Americans led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur who made good his promise words, “I Shall Return.” This is of course natural since the country was occupied by Japan. Photos and news on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the surrender of Japan were in the libraries.

I have to admit my knowledge of what happened in Europe during those abominable war years was limited to the atrocities Hitler did against the Jews, the countries he conquered and his defeat that led to his suicide with Eva Braun. Among the generals of the Allied countries were Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley, Montgomery, Mallory, etc..

It was the war movie The Longest Day that opened me up. It made me curious to learn more about the life and struggles of the European s during World War II and the men who freed them from the oppressors.

When Eddie and I came to the Netherlands Normandy was of course, one of the places in our list to be visited. We drove to the region in 1968 but the harsh winter, mist, and lack of GPS constrained our travel. We saw if I remember right only Omaha beach of the landing beaches and the church. We consoled ourselves we will return one day.

Our “I Shall Return to Normandy” dream was realized 43 years later. We found a land tour where the itinerary included all the historical and cultural places we wanted to visit. It suited our needs. At our age, long distance driving especially at night is not advisable anymore. Looking for a parking place and hotels consume too much time. We also considered the numberless road tolls in France.

We started the tour visiting Mount St. Michel which is at the top of coastal rock outcroppings. There are legends about Saint Michel and one is about the apparition of Saint Michel to a fisherman in 495 A.D. After that in 56 B.C. hermits and mystics lived in the place. In later period it became a priory, a church and a fortress. Today, the mount is a castle and a shrine. Thousands of tourists, even pilgrims come to the castle and schools in France and United Kingdom organize educational tours for their students.




Since we were given two hours to roam around, we slowly went up as high as we could to get a closer look of the monastery. Unfortunately for us, the church was closed because mass was being said. We loitered inside the imposing castle, entered the small shops for souvenirs and paused several times in the long passageway to take photos and enjoy the picturesque view of St. Michel’s surroundings. We still had 30 minutes to spare before our bus leaves but we did not dare to walk to the quicksand that Justine crossed in Travel channel. We were contented watching the school children enjoy the adventure.




After our lunch Gert Reimink, our driver took us to Avranches. We strolled in the city center, entered one of its historical churches, ate a kebab lunch in one of the cozy café-restaurants then walked toward  d’Avranches Scriptorial museum where our bus was parked right in front.







The treasures of Avranches are its 200 manuscripts kept in the Scriptorial museum. Some of the documents date back to the 9^th century. The monastery of Mont St. Michel entrusted the care of more than 4000 books to the district of Avranches.

The next day was D-Day, the day almost everyone in our group was waiting for. Unlike the first time we drove to Normandy, now road signs are seen in major and small towns especially to places where the invasion took place. The landing beaches have retained their codenames, Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword and Gold. They are easily reached from our hotel in Carentan.




Getting off from the bus we walked to Pointe du Hoc located between Utah and Omaha Beach where on top of a bunker a granite pylon has been erected as memorial to the 2^nd ranger regiment. I imagined the American soldiers as they scaled the cliffs, cannon balls and artillery fires shelling all around coming from the Germans who were securing Omaha and Utah beaches. Indeed, the chance of surviving the battle was so little or maybe zero.




We entered and took photos of bunkers in the plateau some still have the seven-inch guns. We walked cautiously to avoid falling in the craters where bombs fell. All of these were left in place as reminders of  the Liberation Day, June 6, 1944.

Next in the day’s itinerary was Arromanches, known for its artificial harbor “Mulberry”, or “Port Winston.” Eddie took time wading in the water to get a closer look of  what were left of the port the Allies constructed to supply ammunitions and weapons to their troops in invading Normandy.







In this seaside resort now are cafes, bars and restaurants on top of the rock wall that protects the city from the water. In the city center another testimony to the invasion is a World War II military tank in front of Musee Du Debarquement.

Gert also drove us to Pegasus Bridge. Eddie told me that in his younger days he saw a film on how the Allies took control of the bridge during the invasion of Normandy.

Those who are interested to know and learn more about the invasion of Normandy, the events, places and people, and the origins of the World War II, the Memorial Museum in Caen  is a good source of information.




The city of Caen was founded by William Duke of Normandy and King of England, It has a number of thousand years old buildings, one of them the former Men’s Abbey who had it constructed in 1066. The Abbey,is now a city hall. His wife Matilda founded The Women’s Abbey.




In The Longest Day, Red Buttons is 33-year-old private John Steele whose parachute was caught in the church tower of Sainte-Mere-Eglise during the invasion. A parachute still hangs in the tower and Steele returned to the place regularly until his death at 56 years old.




 




Our entry to the Airborne Museum was gratis, courtesy of our travel agency. Artilleries and ammunition including a small military plane, documents, photos, relics and reminders of the invasion day are in the museum.

It was flea market day and stalls were in the churchyard. French sausages were being roasted and the smell tempted us. We sat in one of the benches and ate our tasty cheap lunch, baguette with sausage.




For our D-Day group tour Gert drove us to the American Memorial Cemetery and the French Cemetery. As we looked at the thousands white crosses in rows all we could do was to stand in silence and pay tribute to their bravery. Each cross has a name of a soldier. I thought of the mothers, fathers and wives the soldiers left behind and the pain and heartache they suffered from the lost of their loved ones. The soldiers were mostly in the late teens or early twenties.




The Canadian Memorial Cemetery has flowering plants in every row of crosses. I take it as the Canadians’ way of conveying their love and pride of their heroes.




The well kept cemeteries with green landscape and memorials are fitting tribute to the heroes of Normandy.

The 70-meter 11^th century tapestry in Bayeux is in UNESCO’s Memory of the World. The tapestry is a historical document because we were told its embroidery is a narration of life in the medieval period. The original home of the Bayeux Tapestry is the Bayeux cathedral. The imposing Norman Romanesque cathedral was consecrated in 1077 also during the time of William Duke of Normandy and King of England.




The trip to Honfleur was what Eddie and I needed to lift our spirit after having been to the war cemeteries and musea. A look at the beautiful harbor and walking on the street with quaint beautiful old wooden houses relaxed us. The happy faces of tourists proved contagious.







Eddie and I got lost from each other in Etretat. He went to the other direction to take photos of the chalkcliffs in the beach while Jo Lucas, her husband Jan and I were strolling in the busy promenade. I sent him a text message to let him know where to find us.







The day ended with a visit to an apple cider cave. We were shown a video followed by a glass of apple cider for everyone.




There were two unexpected incidents in our Normandy tour. The first happened after boarding our bus bound for our destination. Gert had been driving for more than 30 minutes when a middle-age passenger approached him. Then, Gert announced he will be stopping and maybe there are among us who need to go to the restroom .He stopped in what seemed reserved only for lorries. The man got off and Gert resumed driving. I thought he must be a relation or friend of Gert hitching a ride until we were told the man was bound for Elzas. Every bus in our meeting place has its destination board printed in big letters. What puzzled all of us was he deposited his suitcase in the Elzas bus but boarded our bus. The bus driver for Elzas followed our route to pick the man up.

Forty-three joined the tour, all in senior years except for two who must be younger than 40. One was a man travelling with his uncle or relative, I guessed. The other was a young woman who fell ill when the trip just began. During dinner Gert asked if anyone has Imodium. But, no one brought this medicine. A doctor was called. When I saw her at the supermarket the following morning she seemed recovered. A day later she decided to return home. Gert took her to the train station and helped her get a ticket.

Gert Reimink, our driver is very professional, has a good sense of humour and sensitive to clients’ needs. One morning we have just finished our first leg of tour and boarded the bus again. I was not paying attention but Gert said something about returning to the hotel. We were told to get our jackets because it was a chilly day. I thought this was very considerate of him. Everyone had praises for him. I hope the next time we book a tour with Peter Langhout he will be the driver.

As for our tour, Eddie did not expect we will be with seniors many in their 80’s. But, we were both amazed at the stamina of our co- pensioners. They went up to the castles, walked to all the sites in the tour itinerary and were never late for our schedule, remarkably agile at their age. They were uncomplaining, always smiling and very sociable. Now Eddie wants to join another tour with seniors.

On our last day, at a farewell buffet dinner at van der Valk restaurant in Nuland, courtesy of our travel agency, a gentleman approached our dinner table and proudly showed me a photo of a young boy in the Philippines whom his son is supporting. Jo, my new-found friend also told me earlier that her son in the United States is a foster father to another school-age Pinoy. I thought these senior parents must have been role models to their children.




We waited for more than 40 years to go back to Normandy. The tour was a fulfillment of our wish. The sites, the company, the driver and even the weather cooperated to make our journey enjoyable and memorable.

 

 

 

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