D-Day 75th Anniversary in Normandy

Welcome back and my apologies for the lack of recent posts. It would seem that spending the last 2 1/2 years living in the states has adversely affected my travelling. Nevertheless, back to it now with my first blog since returning to the UK.

This blog is particularly special as it is about D-Day and it is the 75th anniversary of the landings in Normandy. The visit was made even more poignant as the number of vets in attendance has shrunk considerably, given most are now in their mid-90's, the likelihood is that we will not see any vets (or very few) at the next major anniversary in 5 years.

Due to my propensity for putting things off, and our move back to the UK, this trip turned out to be a bit less organized than in the past. Instead of taking a ferry to Caen and Train to the areas of interest, my son, Travis, and I had to fly into Paris-CDG and drive the 320+ kilometers to our base in St-Lo. My lack of organization also meant that I really didn't have much planned other than showing up...thankfully,  good friend, Frances Sherr-Davino was gracious enough to add us to her tour. The interesting thing is that Frances focuses on the 29th ID which is an entirely new facet of the invasion for me.

**note: It is amazing to me that I ended up joining the 29th ID Group. Here's why...the 29th ID was formed in 1941. It was, originally, made up of National guard soldiers. The first base for the 29th ID was at Ft Meade Maryland which is, eerily, about 10 miles from where I grew up! The unit trained and lived on a base that I spent many hours on during my younger years.

It is also worth noting that the unit suffered greatly during WW2. I have included the final casualty list below.

Casualties

• Total battle casualties: 20,620[17]
• Killed in action: 3,887^[17]
• Wounded in action: 15,541^[17]
• Missing in action: 347^[17]
• Prisoner of war: 845^[17]

The first full day in Normandy was the 6th. The day started very early with a trip to Dog sector of Omaha beach for a sunrise ceremony to commemorate the actions of the 116th regiment, 29th ID almost 75 years ago to the minute. With the sun rising over the beach, I can only image how different it was 75 years ago...

Omaha at sunrise

Following the ceremony, we moved to the American cemetery in Colleville. It was here that we were introduced to the 29th ID veteran who we would be spending the next few days with, SSgt Leonard Jendra.

Myself and Leonard.

Leonard is an amazing man, lots of energy for someone in their mid 90's and he speaks Czech and French!

Most of our day was spent at the cemetery being entertained by the 82nd AB choir and band and listening to speeches by President Macron of France and President Trump and running into the odd former politician.

However, you cannot forget the reason for being there. The 9000+ headstones always serves as reminders of those who made the ultimate sacrifice 75 years ago.

Following the ceremony we had the chance to mingle with the VIPs and delegates. This gave us the chance to meet the heroes of D-Day. Whenever I attend these types of events I always make it a goal to meet, shake hands with and speak to as many vets as I possibly can. To a man, over the years, I have found the vets to be humble and gracious and honored to be treated like the heroes that they are.

Day 2 was independent touring around, mainly, the western portions of Normandy. We started off by driving to SME (St Mere Eglise) which is in the 82nd AB sector and is famous for the paratrooper hanging from the church (John Steele). Given that it was the 7th, it was still very busy with a lot of ceremonies taking place and more vets touring which allowed me a few more photo ops. :-)

Following our visit to SME we drove about a mile outside of town to La Fiere bridge (over the Merderet river) and drop zone. The area, still 82nd AB, is famous for the battle between the lead troops of the 325th GIR, the 82nd (In particular the 505th PIR) and the German 1057 and 91 Air landing regiments supported by the 100 Panzer Ausbildungs and Ersatz Abteilung. Arguably, if the bridge had fallen then the security of the beaches would have been in jeopardy. The battle is one of the bloodiest small unit battles in modern history and 150 paratroopers and glider men who died in the 24 hour battle are credited by many with saving D-Day. the phrase 'No better place to die' was a written response by 1st Lt John 'Red Dog' Dolan to one of his NCOs.

**Really looking forward to the upcoming Dale Dye movie about the battle!!**

Movie trailer

The first picture following is the actual bridge at La Fiere...

The next photo is of the memorial to the 82nd and 325th soldiers who took part in the battle...

The last two pictures are of the chapel shown o the aerial view above and a memorial which is located 50 yards from the chapel next to the road.

Following our visit to La Fiere we drove NW to Utah beach, stopping to visit the Major Dick Winters leadership memorial. We also managed to visit the St Come Du Mont church (see previous blog post for more details and photos) before heading to the actual beach.

We spent the rest of the afternoon driving around the western portions of the D-Day areas. We drove north to the Utah Beach museum (See previous blog post for more details) then along the coast. It is amazing that, after 75 years, there are still significant remains of the 'Atlantic Wall' still visible and accessible. 

The sky was grey and ominous much as I would have imagined it to be 75 years ago.

We also took the time to visit some of the many memorials at, and within a few miles of, the Utah museum. That includes those dedicated to US units such as the 90th Division as well as the often overlooked Free French under General Leclerc.

...leaving the beach area we took one of the famous causeways to head home. The causeways were among the main objectives of the 101st AB during the early hours of D-Day. The causeways needed to be secured to allow the US forces to make it off the beach. On the way home we took time to pay our respects at the memorial to the 101st AB pathfinders, the first US troops to hit Normandy on D-Day.

Day 3 saw us rejoin the 29th ID group for a trip to Brittany. Most visitors to Normandy visit the main sites along the beach, the Colleville's and Arromanches and either neglect or do not know that there is considerable history within an hour or so's drive from St-Lo. Our group visited St James American cemetery which contains the remains of over 4000 soldiers, sailor and airmen. Whilst smaller than Colleville, it is no less impressive. 

The group then had a quiet ceremony where Leonard laid flowers at the grave of a 29th ID MoH recipient.

After leaving St James the group travelled to Vire. The 29th ID fought in and around Vire towards the end of the Normandy Campaign (July-August). One of the key battles in the liberation of Vire was for Hill 203. The hill rises up from the river into the town and was the scene of intense fighting. The local mayor and politicians help a ceremony at the site of the battle where a memorial has been placed. The pictures below show the ceremony at the Hill 203 memorial and the view from the hill to the river which gives you an indication of the scale of the task.

I have included a map of the troop movements from mid July into August to give you an understanding of how massive the operation was and where Vire and the US 1st Army was as part of the big picture.

As usual, the French put on a fantastic effort for the vets and their families. The ceremony on Hill 203 was followed by a ceremony in the town itself, attended by close to a 1000 residents. The Mayor followed that up with a reception which included a significant amount of Calvados. :-)

The final day of our long 75th anniversary of D-Day trip was centered around travelling back to Paris to fly home and get back to the realities of life. However, that didn't stop me from hitting another major area of interest. Although it is considered post Normandy and part of the breakout rather than the actual campaign it's still of such importance it deserves even a quick visit. I have included a map to show the shear scale of the operation which included American, British, Canadian and Polish troops.

What is important to note is that the terrain is key to this battle. The terrain, while not substantially high especially to the north contributed to funneling the German 7th Army to the east. This combined with huge areas where there is very little in the way of cover meant that it was like shooting fish in a barrel. 

The following is a Wikipedia summary of the last part of the battle...

On 8 August, the Allied ground forces commander, General Bernard Montgomery, ordered the Allied armies to converge on the Falaise–Chambois area to envelop Army Group B, with the First US Army forming the southern arm, the British the base, and the Canadians the northern arm of the encirclement. The Germans began to withdraw on 17 August, and on 19 August the Allies linked up in Chambois. Gaps were forced in the Allied lines by German counter-attacks, the biggest being a corridor forced past the 1st Polish Armoured Division on Hill 262, a commanding position at the mouth of the pocket. By the evening of 21 August, the pocket had been sealed, with c. 50,000 Germans trapped inside. Many Germans escaped, but losses in men and equipment were huge. A few days later, the Allied Liberation of Paris was completed, and on 30 August the remnants of Army Group B retreated across the Seine, which ended Operation Overlord.

Museum Montormel

We had a few minutes, literally only 15, to walk through the museum. The museum itself is very small, bordering on tiny, but does give some perspective to the battle. Additionally, the views from the museum are stunning and you can imagine the carnage that took place there 75 years ago.

All in all, this was a fantastic experience! I have been to Normandy many times and I am finding new things to see every time and I always meet some fantastic people.

**Note: I would like to extend my thanks and sincere gratitude to Frances Sherr Devino and the 29th ID group for allowing us to join them on this trip. It would not have been anywhere the experience without you.

Normandy and the 101st AB visit May 2014-Part 3

Welcome back everyone...118 page views so far! Just figure...if certain family members and those close to me viewed it then I'd have at least another 2.  ;-)

As I am taking a break from reading up on exciting Project Management topics such as 'Work Breakdown Structures'...I figured I'd do something useful and finish my blog on my Normandy visit.

One of my hopes when starting this blog was to bring the 101st AB to the attention of more people...please share with your friends to help me accomplish that.

The final stops...and my thoughts.

The next stop after the museum and shop at 'Deadmans Corner' was Carentan. The town was a major focal point during the days following the D-Day landings (10-15th June). The town was of major strategic importance to both the Germans and the allies being in a prime location to control counter attacks and for the consolidation of the landing beaches. The battle was particularly difficult given that the area was defended by fallshirmjager (German Paratroopers) and the town lies in an area where access was by a causeway across a floodplain using 4 bridges to span the Douve river.

The tour took us to the four bridges allowing us to get a great perspective as to what the challenges were for the 101st AB. Driving into the town, along a small back road, we had the chance to see 'Bloody Gulch' the site of a major German counterattack. The gulch was depicted in BoB, as of course was Carentan. The town has grown outwards since the war so areas that were rural then with only the odd farmhouse are now major industrial areas. The one positive is that farmhouse used by LtCol Cole (CO of 3/506) remains even though it is in the middle of an industrial area. LtCol Cole is known for many heroic deeds, one of which was a bayonet charge against superior forces on the 15th of June at Carentan.

There is a lot of history associated with the town and I could almost sense it when standing in the town square...it still retains almost the same structure as 70 years ago when the battle took place and shortly afterwards when an awards ceremony took place.

The last stop on the tour was to a memorial to the 'filthy 13' ...a group of Combat Engineers assigned to a series of bridges across the Douve at Brevands. I am not going to spend much time on this part of the trip as it was the only real dissappointment of the trip. The memorial is very nice but is located a distance from the actual spot. It doesn't really do justice to the '13'. A small footnote is that the '13' are thought to be the inspiration behind the movie the 'Dirty Dozen'. I, personally, don't see that and think of it as an insult to the original 13.

Hints/Tips/final thoughts...

I really enjoyed my trip to Normandy and hope that I could convey that through this blog. If I were to list the high points they would be...

• The ease of the travel to and from Normandy.
• The airborne museum at SME.
• Deadmans corner.
• Brecourt Manor.
• Carentan

The low point would be...

• The '13' memorial.

A summary of my hints from the blog...

• Book well in advance.
• Book a cabin if taking the ferry.
• Choose the Full day, or multi-day tour.
• Purchase a travel card for the train/bus/tram.

Well that's about it for my trip to Normandy...take care and see you later in another post.

Normandy and the 101st AB visit May 2014-Part 2

Welcome back everyone...I hope that you have been enjoying my blog. It is meant to highlight some of the interesting places that I visit and the things that I do, or try to do in some cases.  ;-)

This is the second part of my blog about my visit to Normandy in May 2014...


....I ended the last post at the visit to the farmhouse adjacent to one of the exit points from Utah beach.

So we jumped back into the people carrier with the rest of the tour group and headed for our next stop which happened to be Brecourt Manor. Given that the tour was aimed at the 101st AB in general, this stop was specifically related to the BoB. Just a quick summary of the history of the site for those of you who have yet to watch, or read about, the BoB. During the early hours of D-Day, US intelligence had thought that there were 4 x  88mm guns located at the site and they were firing on the Utah exit points (3 miles away) as well as St Marie Du Mont. The 101st AB, specifically the 2nd Battalion (as well as parts of other battalions) began to regroup a few kilometers from the farm. Given that Lt Meehan, the original company commander, was missing it fell on Lt Winters to lead the assault on the guns. Lt Winters, along with 12 other men, proceeded to the farm where, by all accounts, Lt Winters conducted an almost perfect example of cover and flanking infantry assault on a fixed position. The actual assault eventually involved other companies but was an easy company lead operation. The tactics used by Lt Winters have been taught at West Point and the Lt was awarded the DSC (Distinguished Service Cross) and had been considered for the CMOH (Medal Of Honor). It is worth stating that most of those involved were decorated but, unfortunately, the awards that most EMs received were often downgraded....

The great thing about the farm/manor is that it has barely changed in 70 years. The same family own the property (Lots of history worth reading on just the family...the De Vallavieille's).

  
Walking around the field, in the photo above, gave me a real sense of the battle and what Winters was able to accomplish..it was a special moment where you could stand in the middle of history

Following the visit to Brecourt, the next stop was St Marie Du Mont. The village is set between Utah Beach and Carentan and has the distinction of being the first village liberated on D-Day. For BoB fans, it is depicted in episode 2 where the men of easy company are in the back of a truck eating. The village is very pretty and is dominated by a large church who steeple was destroyed during the battle. Some say it was the US Army who destroyed the steeple and there's a copy of a letter of apology from the US commander.

As with most places in Normandy, little has changed in 70 years...yes, the roads are paved now but the layout is pretty much the same and the buildings, although converted to other uses, remain as they were.

...the bottom picture shows bullet holes in the confessional. A stark reminder that people died on the spots being depicted.

The next stop was Dead Mans Corner, where there is a nice little museum with many airborne artifacts. The nice thing about the museum is that it has both Allied and German items. Additionally, there is a fantastic shop on the ground floor where you can get original WW2 kit as well as reproductions. This is a must see...

I, particularly, enjoyed the Major Winters display being the BoB fan that I am.


Dead Mans Corner Museum

Tips/Hints:
Take the full day tour, there's too much to see in a half day. If you have the cash then opt for a two day tour. Make a list of any WW2 gear you want to buy beforehand so you are prepared for the selection at the shop. Best hint...do your research, read a few books and ask questions....


I am going to end things here for the day...the next, and final post will be a wrap up to include Carentan. I hope you enjoyed this and will keep reading and share with your friends.

Best wishes...

Normandy and the 101st AB visit May 2014-Part 1

Welcome back to my blog...it's been a while since I last posted anything. I guess it is easier to say that you are going to commit to doing something than actually doing it!!!

One thing that I did mention previously is that I am very interested in the 101st AB (Probably gave that away a bit by the title of this post eh). To be fair, my interest lies in the period between 1943 and the end of the war. My interest began with the mini series 'Band of Brothers' but continued beyond that after doing some research...I have to personally thank, and recommend, my friend Ian Gardner for his help in learning more about the 101st AB. Ian is an excellent author with three fantastic books which detail the 3/506 from D-Day to the end of the war. I would recommend looking him up and buying his books..

Ian Gardner Bio...

Enough of the waffling...on to the blog.

This blog is a reflection on my trip to Normandy during May 2014. I had tried to plan the trip to coincide with the 70th anniversary but, due to a significant lack of planning on my part, could not get a place to stay within 100 miles! Amazing to think that I've been a Project Manager for almost a quarter of a century and struggle with planning!

Travel:

There are a number of points of entry to Normandy...

1. Cherbourg which is on the Northern tip of the Cotentin peninsula.

2. Caen which is further east and slightly inland and is served by a ferry port which is approximately 10kms North.

3. Dieppe.

4. Calais.

All of the above are serviced by Ferries from ports such as Portsmouth and Dover. We decided to use Portsmouth for this trip and took the ferry directly to Caen. The prices vary depending on how far in advance you book, what time of day you travel and the accommodation. The trip itself was very easy...the ferry terminal at Portsmouth has long stay parking within a 5 minutes walk of the actual terminal. There isn't much to do in the terminal, a Costa and pretty much that's all. The ferry trip itself was nice, approximately 5 hours with nice weather. Arrival at the port in Caen was, again, easy with the only downside being a 15 minute wait to get a bus from the ship to the immigration/customs. Nevertheless, once at the terminal it took literally minutes to pass through. Once you get through immigration then it is a short walk to the bus stop and then it's a 15 minute ride into Caen.

Caen, itself, has some very nice areas, unfortunately, none are around the bus/train station. If you get a chance then do walk, or better yet get a cab, into the city where there's a nice castle and many great places to eat but that's for another blog!. I took the train to Bayeux which is located about 30 kms west of Caen. It is central for sightseeing and is only 10 kms from the D-Day beaches but, more importantly, it is where our tour started from...

Tips/Hints:
As with most things, book well in advance to get the cheapest fares. I would also suggest that, for the longer ferry trips, you consider booking a cabin. It costs approximately 20 GBP but gives you a place to sleep and have a shower. The alternative is to try to find a seat among the gazillion Brits who started drinking before boarding or are use the deck as a creche for their kids! Final tip...take the train in France. They are cheap (or at least cheaper than the UK) and generally reliable. I remember our trains arriving early...something you don't see in good ole England!

Sightseeing and History:

Obviously, the main focus of the trip was to see where a lot of the scenes depicted in BoB's, The Longest Day, and other movies were suppose to have taken place and to try to get a feel for the history. As this was a short trip of only a few days, it was decided to go with an organised tour...something that I usually try to avoid. In this instance it was the perfect decision...! The tour group that we decided upon was Overlord tours. The company provide many tours specifically for those interested in WW2 history. The tours range from 1/2 day tours up to multi-day tours. They have many choices so do your research and make sure you pick the one best suited for what your interests are. For me it had to be Tour 5 which was a full day tour which focused on the 101st AB.

D-Day Tour

The tour started with meeting our guide, Dominique, at the center of Bayeux. There were 8 of us on the tour in a people carrier which was fine for the day. The first stop was at one of the locks used to control the flooding of the fields across Normandy (Just inland from the beaches). The locks were used as a deterrent by the Germans to try to dissuade the use of airborne troops.

                                                            Normandy Lock...

The next stop was St Mere Eglise (SME). The town is well known to WW2 history buffs and hs been well represented in movies such as the Longest Day. To be fair, it is a fantastic place...it, obviously, is now well focused on the tourist trade so you can expect a lot of tourist shops. However, they have a wonderful museum dedicated to the Airborne Troops and have many nice shops which cater to those who follow the 101st and 82nd ABs. It is worth noting that, despite what is portrayed in BoB, SME was an 82nd objective and most of the soldiers engaged there were, in fact 82nd AB.

There is so much history in SME that I cannot do it justice in one short blog...take my word for it, it was worth the visit.

You will notice that, in the top picture, you can see the representation of John Steele who got caught on the steeple and then proceeded to spend the next couple of hours pretending to be dead while the battle took place below him (He was captured later then escaped...pretty much a folk hero in SME where they celebrated him). The bottom picture shows battle damage to the chimney incurred during the fighting the 6th of June, 1944.

NB: Major Winters landed just west of the town..follow the road under the La Fiere bridge to get to the actual location which is near the N-13 which goes around SME.

After lunch in SME (try the baguettes, excellent!) the next stop was to a farm house just back from Utah beach. There were a number of 'exit' points from the beach. These exit points were of huge strategic importance as they were the routes for troops exiting the landing areas and, as such, were objectives of the 101st AB on D-Day. The farmhouse was special as there are a number of pictures associated with the 101st and this farmhouse. Specifically, there is a picture of a group of soldiers with one wearing a German helmet..that was Forrest Guth. The picture below was taken on the same spot and shows how little thins have changed in 70 years.

I am going to end this post here and pickup the remainder of the trip later...there's too much to tell in one post and I don't want to bore people.

Parting comment...personally, it means a lot to me to be able to stand where so much took place. I can, honestly, say that I feel something when I visit such places. I am not sure whether it is just me or the fact that, even after 70 years, the history is still not so far in the past that we cannot almost touch it. In some cases we can touch history and celebrate those that gave so much in such a different time..the following picture is of two heroes. The man on the left is Bob Noody who was one of the faces of the 101st AB having had the distinction of his picture taken whilst on the plane heading for D-Day (second picture). I had the pleasure of meeting this man, spending an afternoon with him...drinking whisky and singing Irish songs. I will never forget that experience...

See you next time.....