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At first thought, a nearly nine-hour drive from Wiesbaden to the west coast of France might not seem close. But for one who has longed to see the battle sites, it’s much less of a hassle than a transatlantic flight of equal length.
The drive is beautiful and affords the flexibility for stops along the way in French cities such as Paris, Metz and Rheims. An unplanned stop in a small French village could also be enjoyable, and perhaps much less stressful than a city visit.
Along the 50-mile stretch of beaches, a good place to start is the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville sur Mer above Omaha Beach.
The cemetery has rows upon rows of perfectly aligned crosses and Stars of David marking 9,387 graves, according to the cemetery’s website. Most of the people buried in the cemetery died on D-Day and the operations afterward.
There are several famous graves in the cemetery. Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr., and Quentin Roosevelt, two sons of President Theodore Roosevelt, are buried in the cemetery. Quentin was a pilot killed in World War I, and his body was exhumed so he could be buried next to his brother, who participated in the D-Day invasion and received the Medal of Honor.
There are 41 sets of brothers buried at the cemetery. Two of the Niland brothers, who were the inspiration for the movie “Saving Private Ryan,” are among those buried there.
The graves tell a collective story of the invasion. Americans from every background participated, and they were from every state in the country. The cemetery includes a wall listing Soldiers missing in action. A bronze rosette placed next to the name signifies that the remains of that Soldier was later found.
It is a short walk from the cemetery to the beach area.
The Germans had overrun France four years before the battle, and a total of 160,000 American, English and Canadian troops landed on the beaches in an effort to defeat Adolf Hitler and the German Army, according to the U.S. Army.
Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded the invasion of more than 5,000 ships and nearly three times as many aircraft, and by the end of the day the Allies had gained a foothold in Normandy, according to the U.S. Army.
The Americans landed at Utah Beach and Omaha Beach, the British landed at Gold Beach and Sword Beach and the Canadians landed at Juno Beach. In order, from west to east, the beaches are Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.
Further up the beaches is Pointe du Hoc, where Soldiers from the 2nd Ranger Battalion scaled the cliffs under a hail of German grenade and gun fire on D-Day. The ground next to the cliffs is still covered with craters from bombing and there are several defense structures visitors can explore.
The Museum of the Battle of Normandy in Bayeux, the Airborne Museum in St. Mere Eglise and the Museum of the Normandy Wrecks in Port-en-Pessin are just a few of the many museums in the area. In fact, there are so many museums that if a visitor has a particular interest in the invasion, its likely to be a museum for it, such as the Ranger museum in Grandcamp-Maisy — featuring the U.S. Rangers’ contribution to the invasion.
Accommodations can be made anywhere in the towns along the strip, but Bayeux is the closest city to the beaches. It is a charming city with a beautiful cathedral, is home to the Bayeux Tapestry, a 230-foot tapestry from about 1070 that shows the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England.
There are also several camping opportunities in the area.
And while the popular attractions to the area might be the beaches, there are more sites farther south in the town of Caen, and at Le Mont St. Michel — a monastery built on a small rocky island about one kilometer off the coast of France — and St. Malo — a walled medieval city on the coast.
Visitors can get help at the cemetery’s visitors’ center with finding particular graves. One can also access the World War II database at www.abmc.gov/search/wwii.php to find family members buried at Normandy. There are also military cemeteries near La Cambe, Courseulles-sur-Mer and Ranville.
Find more information about the landing at www.army.mil/d-day.
For a complete listing of Memorial Day events at overseas American cemeteries, including Normandy, visit www.abmc.gov/events/Memorial-Day-2012.php.
The Comite du Debarquement Normandy organizes June 6 commemoration ceremonies each year, and this year there are several events.
The children of the Sword Beach sector will hold a commemoration at 8:30 a.m. at la Breche Beach in Hermanville sur Mer, and at 10:15 a.m., there will be an Anglo-French ecumenical service with the Royal British Legion Normandy-Calvados Branch at the Bayeux Cathedral.
In addition, there will be a national commemorative ceremony at the British military cemetery at Ranville at 3 p.m., and at 4 p.m. a commemoration at Place du cuirasse Courbet in Hermanvile sur Mer. There will be a concert with French, Dutch and Norwegian military bands at Parc de la Mairie in Hermanville sur Mer at 5:45 p.m.