Visiting the D-Day Beaches in Normandy
Visiting Normandy and the beaches from D-Day in WWII was an experience I will never forget. 🇫🇷 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 🇨🇦 🇵🇱
It has been 79 years since the largest amphibious invasion in history unfolded in Europe.
On June 6, 1944, over 160,000 Allied troops stormed the beaches in Normandy to rid our world of Nazi tyranny and evil. By June 30, that number would increase to over 850,000 men and women who set foot on that hallowed ground.
The cost for freedom would be great and hopefully it will never be forgotten!
For decades, I hoped to visit Normandy and the surrounding region someday. I have known men who fought on the beaches at D-Day and heard their stories of war. Being there would help me keep their legacies alive and honor those who died for our freedom.
Then, on March 28, 2023, it finally became a reality. I was standing on the sand so much blood was spilled upon. And it was surreal.
While things have changed and life has moved on in the past 79 years, you can still feel the enormity of this invasion.
Of course, there are the beautiful commemorative plaques, places of remembrance, and remnants of World War II, but if you know what happened here and close your eyes, you wouldn’t need any of them to remind you. It’s that powerful of an experience.
It didn’t take long for the tears to roll down my face.
When you’ve personally seen the pain from the WWII Veterans who were there on that infamous day, it doesn’t take much more to put it all into perspective.
Watching the opening moments of Saving Private Ryan is perhaps the most accurate way to glimpse what these men endured. The emotional scars would last their entire lifetime.
I could write endlessly about World War II and what it means to me, or share everything I’ve learned from our heroes and those who suffered. But it will never be enough because my words cannot adequately capture the gravity of it all.
Yet I can encourage you to visit the D-Day beaches of Normandy so you can try and experience it for yourself.
The Normandy D-Day Experience Tour
Typically, I prefer to avoid guided tours because doing things yourself offers a richer cultural experience. Plus, you always get rushed from one point to another because time is limited. You don’t always get to see what you want to see.
For this experience, we wanted to avoid complications and make life easier since we had only a few days in Bayeux, France. Not to mention rental cars were stupidly expensive. So we went to TripAdvisor and found an all-day tour from Gold Beach Company.
It was well worth it.
First, we visited the La Cambe German War Cemetery, which was profoundly moving. Many Germans were dumped into mass graves and forgotten. Many of these men did not want to fight and continue the war, but they had no choice. They and their loved ones would be executed for refusing to do so.
I don’t think we should forget that the horrors of WWII affected people on all sides.
Our next stops included visiting the church in Angoville-au-Plain, Sainte-Mere-Eglise, and Brécourt Manor – all very important in the history of the D-Day invasion and 1o1st Airborne Division.
From there, the tour took us to the coast and Pointe Du Hoc, the famous site where the U.S. Army Rangers of the Second Ranger Battalion scaled the “impossible” 100-foot cliffs to attack and defeat the Germans. The area is overwhelmingly filled with bunkers and bomb craters. And I wanted to explore them all!
Thankfully, we arrived at the Pointe Du Hoc memorial when we did, because many areas are now closed or limited due to erosion and safety concerns.
I‘m writing about each of these places individually, but collectively, the day was absolutely touching and incredible.
One aspect that made this tour even more special was our guide, Sophie. A French woman with a sincere passion for history and WWII, she went above and beyond by taking our crew to places I requested.
Not only that, but because Sophie learned about my family history during the war and my passion for the subject, she got me into a special bunker that very few people will ever see. WOW!!! I am so thankful.
If you head over to visit any of the D-Day sites, I highly recommend the full-day Normandy experience with Gold Beach Company. You won’t regret it.