We wanted to beat any busloads of crowds at the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach so we arrived at 9:02A just as it opened with only one other car in the lot. As expected, it is an extremely moving experience. I can't really do it any more justice than all of the other photos you have undoubtedly seen that were shot from above to take in the entire cemetery at once but from there you can really appreciate how far the soldiers had to come to get to the top of the hill. There is a post in the middle of this photo in the drier sand this side of the beach. We missed the jogger going by but he wasn't much taller than the post. They both looked like dots on the sand.
It is no wonder so many lives were lost.
I imagine that it is no coincidence that the graves face west.
And while the museums were full of intriguing artifacts and interesting facts about the battles, the videos about and by individuals involved in the attack are certainly the most moving. One surviving nurse from the time mentioned that when she has visited the site over the years, the French are always quick to thank her. She said that she thinks that the French are probably more aware of the sacrifices made for them than the Americans are. I can see as how that could be, and we certainly saw more French visitors than Americans, by far.
In one o the videos, one sister recounted the loss of her brother at the battle and spoke of her family's decision to have him buried at the Cemetery here. She wanted him to come home. Her mother said, No. He earned that little piece of land. True that.
It is no wonder so many lives were lost.
And while the museums were full of intriguing artifacts and interesting facts about the battles, the videos about and by individuals involved in the attack are certainly the most moving. One surviving nurse from the time mentioned that when she has visited the site over the years, the French are always quick to thank her. She said that she thinks that the French are probably more aware of the sacrifices made for them than the Americans are. I can see as how that could be, and we certainly saw more French visitors than Americans, by far.
In one o the videos, one sister recounted the loss of her brother at the battle and spoke of her family's decision to have him buried at the Cemetery here. She wanted him to come home. Her mother said, No. He earned that little piece of land. True that.
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