World War II was started by the German government's desire to do what it failed to do in World War I; win the fight against freedom and rule the world. Tyranny swept through Europe during the mid through late 1930's as the National Socialist Party (Nazi's) tried to impose their rule of order on the world. In 1937-1938 they annexed various countries to Germany, to build a strong army, air force, navy, and pride among Germans that was taken from them at the end of World War I. In 1939, they began their reign of terror on the rest of Europe by invading and capturing Poland, France, Luxemburg, Holland, Sweden, Norway, and practically every European country. Switzerland remained neutral, and the attempted invasion of England. In 1941, two days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, awakening the sleeping giant, and changing the world as we knew it.
My grandfather fought in WWII in the Navy in the South Pacific theater, my dear friend Joe Reed fought in the European theater. Most everyone in the US knows or knew of someone, male or female, that fought in WWII. But the US response to war declaration was not just the invasion at Normandy. It began for America in late 1941, but for Europe, attacks began in early 1942. I'm not clear on dates because it's difficult to find them quickly on the web. However, what is important and a clear distinction for my daughter, the US had been fighting in WWII for more than 2 years before the massive invasion of northern France on June 6th, 1943.
During our trip through Normandy, I was told that I needed to see the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach. I love history, and live in Williamsburg as well as 3 miles from the first permanent English settlement in America, Jamestown. But going to a cemetery on vacation seemed odd and not something I wanted to do. But after plenty of advice from my siblings, my daughter and I sought out the cemetery on Monday, the 26th of July. I'm glad I did, for what I'm about to describe was simply one of the most memorable and moving experiences of our trip to France.
The US and France have shared a unique relationship for nearly 2 and half centuries. King Louis the XVI was responsible for providing money and material support both in an army and navy to help the US gain its independence from England. This venture ends up being one of the contributing factors to the fall of the monarchy in France, but it truly was one of the most noble of efforts. As a side note, the US was the only set of colonies that won their independence from England at the time of the American Revolution; many other English colonies around the world were also rebelling against England at that time. The US was again helped in the war of 1812. Then in return, the US helped liberate France from German control in both WWI and WWII, and France has been very keen on recognizing that fact. They prefer not to remember that the helped the US in its time of need because that was under the guises of a monarchy. So, visiting the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach was also a tribute to the recognition by France for what the US did for France, and France continues to remember humbly with these types of memorials.
Getting to the cemetery was not easy; in fact, it was frustratingly difficult. The GPS in the car did not recognize the site, and the local towns nearby were not in the unit as reference points. So, we headed for Bayeaux. This was the closest city to the cemetery. Rob told me that this would be a good reference point and along the way I should see signs for the cemetery and that would simply guide me to the location. Well, we made it into Bayeaux with a goal of making it to the visitor center, and the stupid GPS unit dumped us in the middle of the city, with no clear location of the visitor center. Not only was I lost, I was now frustrated. So we tried to find a place to park, and this city was a zoo; parking was difficult to find. I finally located some public parking nearby a hospital, and it appeared to be about 300 meters from the visitor center. Wonderful, I have to search an area of 282,000 square meters, about half the size of OSU's campus. I figured I didn't put on enough deodorant for the search and pondered applying a bit more.
We searched for the visitor center by starting where the GPS unit stopped us. It was actually another 30 meters off, and in a direction north of where we were deposited by the GPS unit. By this point I was beginning to think that when you put the unit into English text mode, the accuracy of the unit drops just to piss off foreigners. We walked into the visitor center, found a clerk that thankfully spoke English and told her I was lost. We told her we were looking for the cemetery, and she gave us a map and guide with everything in it. Sarah even had the forethought to ask for an address for the GPS, and the clerk circled it for us. So, we went outside, and then realized in my frustration, I forgot where I parked the car! Damn. So we retraced our steps and eventually made it back to the car. We plugged in the address we were given, and no address found. Instead, we put in another town closer to the cemetery and were able to begin our trek.
As we approached the second, closer city, Sarah noticed these burnt orange signs directing people to Omaha Beach. Initially there was no mention of a cemetery, but we figured it had to be there. As we approached the area, we see another sign for a golf course, a resort area, and at the bottom, the cemetery. Omaha Beach has become a place for recreation. That seemed somewhat sacrilegious; it was rather early given the fact that so many people died in this area less than 60 years ago. Eventually, as we continued to follow these signs, we end up on a one way road, heading towards the English Channel. And then all of a sudden, we enter the cemetery. Parking was a bit full, with nearly 1000 visitors there already. I thought wow, a place that actually gets visited in memory of our brave men and women that died for freedom of the world.
After parking and getting our wits about us, we headed towards the visitor center. There, we had to pass through security to ensure we were not bringing anything prohibited into the visitor center. The visitor center was quite a place with all sorts of statements from Eisenhower, and our soldiers. There was a sign in book at the entrance, and I decided to sign in our names and see who was visiting; most of the visitors were French. We were one of a handful of Americans. We headed downstairs, where the exit was, and found two theaters, one closed and one open. We stood and watched the open one and realized it was the second in a series of movies of what we were about to learn. We eventually viewed the first movie, and while this was playing, I began to cry. I wasn't sobbing, but I was overcome with emotions of just what this place represented. I had tears of loss and tears of pride; America at its finest was resting on this hallowed soil.
Sarah and I both learned a lot from the visitor center. Leading up to the invasion, the location was held secretly, and only disinformation was sent to throw off the Germans. The Germans had actually fortified northern France which is where they wanted, and left the south to the Vichy government; a Nazi based government that supported the Reich. The day before the invasion, 10,000 acts of sabotage were performed by the French underground, a tidbit that continues to allude movies these days. Another unknown fact was that Italy declared war on the US. That really shocked us because we thought only Japan and Germany did this. The invasion ended 4 years of tyrannical rule and oppression. Nearly 100,000 invaded on the 6th of June, 20,000 in paratroopers and another 80,000 by sea. In less than 3 days they regrouped after the initial onslaught to form a 60 mile line of the invasion. That's about the distance from Williamsburg to Richmond in Virginia. On that day however, we lost 9600, or 10%.
To understand how you lose so many, you have to see Omaha Beach. I am showing a picture to illustrate this. The beach itself is long at low tide, and moderately lengthy at high tide. As you get away from the beach area and encounter vegetation, the ground begins to rise, and eventually a rather rapid rise. The peak of this rise is about 600 feet; our men were pinned down easily. In ancient warfare, the army that had the highest ground usually won the battle. So why you would attempt to take the hill is incomprehensible unless there is a driving force. In this case, the driver was supply lines. The easiest and quickest route to Omaha Beach was straight across the English Channel. So the supply lines were a major factor in choosing this particular region. Of course history shows us that the strategy worked, but some might say at a stiff price to the loss of human life.
We toured the cemetery for quite some time. As I walked, I was saddened more at the tremendous loss. But what hit me as most interesting was the locations of all the men that are buried at this American Cemetery; they are from all over the US. Jewish markers can be seen with the star of David, while the rest had crosses. Unlike the battle markers of the American civil war, where each state was specifically mentioned with its own memorial, this memorial represented the entirety of the US. It truly is hallowed ground. It is filled with the men and women that gave their lives to restore freedom in the world, and they did this willingly.
When we first arrived and signed in, there was a place to leave any remarks. Mine was simple, "To honor thy grandfather." I wish I had included my dear friend Joe Reed who I met when I was 12 years old and who taught me everything I know about fishing. Joe was a member of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Company C, of the 101st Airborne Division. He participated in the invasion of Normandy and Market Garden, the battle of Bastogne and the Battle of the Bulge. He was with the same group that "The Band of Brothers" originated, that regiment was Company E. I walked among his fellow comrades and felt their presence.
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