The Beach and the 82nd DZ
Trip Start
May 27, 2009
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15
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Trip End
Jun 11, 2009
Sainte-Mère-Église, Basse-Normandie, France
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The day started early today for all of us and we had just about a 2 hour drive. Since our schedule was a bit out of whack the last few days, we needed to make up some time so the first stop today was...........are you ready.......Omaha Beach.
We pulled to the side of the road and all hopped off and I jumped a small wall to feel sand beneath my feet. Of course the shoes came off as I walked on the beach that the men of the 29th and 1st divisions advanced on 65 years ago and a day. It was high tide and the water came almost up to the wall. But one could see where the beach would be at low tide. It looked to be about 50-75 yards or so that those men had to advance on under tremendous enemy fire. Then once they reached the end of the beach they would have had to advance up a hill still under fire
Omaha Beach
. Just incredible to think about and more incredible to view. I saw a crater on the side of the hill--a remnant of the fierce fire coming from over 5000 ships in the ocean. I walked down and touched the water.....memories of the scene from 'Saving Private Ryan" when the water seemed to have a red tint to it. We all thought this an incredible feat but now seeing it, an almost impossible one, yet somehow the Allies gained that foothold in France.I took my plastic bag and scraped up some sand from the beach to take home. As I returned to the bus I also grabbed a small stone to bring too. A small remembrance of my bare foot walk on what I consider hallowed ground. And on to Saint Mere Eglise'.
We arrived at the town hall right on time to an amazing reception. The town was packed and I mean packed with more people than Mardi Gras in New Orleans. As we exited the bus we lined up the veterans for a ceremony with the Mayor. They all received a few gifts from the mayor including pins, photos of the liberation from 1944 and many other items. It was quite the celebration with a Navy band and all. It was awesome.
And by the way, these guys are absolute celebrities over here
Getting my sand
. They are followed by reporters and autograph seekers, the paparazzi and anyone else who is around. You can hardly push a wheelchair anywhere without running into one. It was the greatest treatment of WWII vets I have ever seen. They truly are heroes to this country. Once again the sunglasses came out to hide the tears. After the ceremony the town provided a lunch for us in the town hall and then we were in limbo for a while not knowing whether they were going to have the parachute jump this afternoon. You see, it had started to rain and the clouds started to roll in low and we just were not sure. When finally the word came, head to the DZ. That is drop zone for you non-military types.
A police escort took us out to the site and we got there with about 10 minutes to spare. Along came the C-130's and the military jump went off. It was great to see the chutes open and the men gracefully fall to the ground. As they jumped, the wind did pick up and we noticed quite a few troopers drift off course. One landed in the river by the bridge and we heard from the Command Sgt. Major later in the day that they suffered a few concussions and broken bones as a result. Quite common in talking with Ron of a jump that size. But quite the sight to see. While we were watching the jump my cell phone rang and it was Brad Stansbury
Crater on Omaha Beach
. Brad is a reenactor friend of mine and he was here with the Liberty Jump Team. He called to try and find me and we were able to connect for a few moments. It was good to see Brad since he is from Indiana and I only see him about once a year or so. Even if it was only a few minutes it was nice to catch up with him. A police escort brought us back to town and we were free for the afternoon until the banquet dinner that night. The town was still packed to the gills, but the first thing a number of us did (after we were certain the vets were taken care of, of course) was head to the Stop Bar and have a shot of Calvadose in honor of Jim Norene. Myself, Ron, Paddy, Mike and Bill toasted in Jim's honor and later that day I heard that about 30 of us on the tour at various times had a shot in honor our friend and fellow trooper, Jim Norene. It was a request made to us from a friend of his through this travel blog. Thanks Kaye and Jerry. Check out the picture when it is posted.
Once again these guys were celebrities with requests for photos, autographs, etc. One guy even asked Daryle to sign his shirt. He was wearing it at the time. It took forever to walk these guys to the place for dinner, but it was so well worth it. We were followed right up to the barn where we were eating and finally we had to excuse ourselves to eat
Omaha Beach looking East
. What an experience it all was. The people, the parade in town of all the troopers that jumped that afternoon-- what a time! For those that know Airborne history, the 82nd dropped in and around Saint Mere and an 82nd trooper named John Steele landed on the church in town and his parachute got hung up on the steeple and he was stuck there until late in the day on June 6th. Daryle Whitfield, a trooper on our trip, was in John's plane and was the push man, meaning he was last out of the plane. Daryle's picture was in the Airborne Museum with the rest of his company including John Steele. Daryle landed about 1 mile outside of town that fateful night.
Oh yeah, and we also visited the Airborne Museum in town, too. They had a Waco Glider and a C-47 on display with more equipment than I have seen at many reenactments. That was great, too. The bad thing was my batteries died on my camera about then, so you may have to wait for a few days for the pictures from today. Ron took most of them and I will have to get them from him after we get home.
Another highlight for me was meeting a lady from the American Embassy in Paris. Her name was C.C
The surf at Omaha
. and she was a major in the Air Force. She is the one who I will credit with President Obama mentioning Jim in his speech at the ceremony on June 6th. I spent 10-15 minutes talking with her about the chain that occurred and how Jim's name ended up in the speech. I have been told that he did not want much of a ceremony, but boy did he have one heck of a send off. Thanks to C.C. C.C., I know you said you did not do much, but you got the ball rolling and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Next time I am in Paris, I will look you up. I owe you a shot of Calvados--in Jim's honor of course. And yes, your picture will be on the blog. Now as I sit on the bus heading back to the hotel, I am really tired, but what an incredible last day in Normandy. I have decided today that I will be back to this place. And I will celebrate this again with these guys. Heck, Daryle is planning on coming back in 5 years and he is 87.
I also wanted to take the time to thank Heather who was our tour guide for the week. Actually we had two guides, one for each bus. Heather was on our bus and she was fantastic. She gave us just the best advice and information on our trip and she also always had small tidbits of advice, The best piece of advice being "we can only use the toilet on the bus while in movement." Something that I will always keep in mind when I take any bus tour. And our other guide, Alison (with one L). She consistently had us participating in spelling bees while we traveled to keep us entertained......."No, it is one L, one, just one!"
Tomorrow, travel day to London.
