Caen – Normandy – Omaha Beach Part II

Jesus is a Cab driver in Caen

Initially we called a cab to get from the Caen War Memorial, to the train station to go to Bayeux. Explaining this to our taxi driver, his face light up and he told us he would take us to Bayeux, and give us a private tour. The three of us (Mike, Jim and I) were skeptical at first, and asked him how much, and where we would get to go. The American Cemetary, Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, Point Du Hoc, and the beach front D-day Museum, all for 130 euro. His face lit up when we jumped at the chance to save money (our original tour was going to cost 150 euro), and have a private tour. With me in the front seat, Mike and Jim in the back, Patrick hit the freeway. While driving he was digging through his brief case pulling out maps, and books in English that were all about the D-day invasion. Like a kid on Christmas, his excitement was infectious. We sat in the car, listening intently as he explained what he knew about it. Our first stop in Bayeux was the American Cemetery, which is actually not on French soil. The property was given to the United States by the French govt. There is a governor who oversees all the care that is required. In the American cemetery it is illegal to smoke, or to have any dogs.

• It is 172.5 acres, 
• 9,387 US service men and women buried there
• 307 of those are unknown
• three Medal of Honor reciepients
• four women 
• 33 pairs of brothers buried side by side. 
• It is the largest American Cemetery from WW2, but not the largest in Europe: that is the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery from WW1 with more than 14,000 burials.

Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr (Block D : Row 28 : Graves 45 & 46)

- 4th Division.
- Died 12th July 1944
- son of the President and buried beside his brother Quentin, killed as a pilot in WW1.
- Recipient of the Medal of Honour.

Two brothers who inspired 'Saving Private Ryan' (Block F : Row 15 : Graves 11 & 12)

- 2/Lt Preston Niland 22nd Infantry and Sgt Robert Niland 505th PIR.
- Robert was killed on D Day and Preston on 7th June. A third brother was thought killed in the Pacific, so the fourth was allowed home. However, the brother in the Pacific actaully survived the war.
- It was their story which inspired the script writers for 'Saving Private Ryan'

Father and Son (Block E : Row 20 : Graves 19 & 20)

- Colonel Ollie Reed, 115th Infantry, 30th July 1944.
- 1st Lieutenant Ollie Reed Jr., 163rd Infantry, 6th July 1944.

Medal of Honour winner: T/Sgt Frank Peregory (Block  G : Row 21 : Grave 7)

- 116th Infantry, 29th Division.
- Killed 14th June 1944.
- Awarded for Grandcamp Maisy 8th June 1944.

Medal of Honour winner: 1st Lieutenant Jimmie W. Monteith Jr (Block I : Row 20 : Grave 12)

- 16th Infantry, 1st Division.
- Killed 6th June 1944.
- Awarded for Omaha Beach, D Day.

The cemetery sits high above the beach, and there is a steep winding path that leads you down. It was very awe inspiring to set foot on the beach. Taking off my shoes it was the first time in a month that I had my toes in the sand. Unfortunately I did not have a cold beer in my hand, but as I walked from the entry way out toward the ocean, I tried to soak in the view, and assess my feelings. Here I was walking toward the ocean, on a sunny day in 2011, in a place where many years ago a war that killed many Americans was started. It was low tide, so it felt like a mile to get to the ocean’s edge. With my feet soaking in the waters of the Atlantic, I turned around for the first time since setting foot on the beach, trying to imagine what it must have been like as I looked up at the hills that overlooked the beach. It is said that at sun rise that morning, the German troops could see nothing but ships out in the ocean, all the way to the Horizon. An elevation of at least 400 feet above the water was a bunker used by the Germans. It made me tremble to think about the landing craft door dropping down, and the machineguns starting to take aim, like shooting fish in a barrel, it must have been insane.

Trying to grasp the size of the invasion force was very difficult for me. It has to been stated that over 160,000 troops landed on June 6th, 1944. That is more troops than the United States currently has stationed in Afghanistan. The beaches are clear of the obstacles the Germans put to stop or slow the landing craft, but a few can still be found at the museum. The museum is actually housed in a former field hospital that was built shortly after D-day to treat casualties.  

Our tour guide proved to be excellent, he truly saved our trip. On the ride back to our hotel, I thought about everything I saw, and everything that our soldier's must have experienced, and I became very greatful that my Grandfather fractured his ankle, and could not fight in WWII. I could not imagine my life with out ever having him in it.