One cold morning in June

[exlrrp]

Originally posted by 39mto39g Just one question, When you stood on the beach and faced those old gun enplacements, Did the hair stand up on your arm?

I think you need to come home now, your making us jelous.

Thanks

Ron

TOO LATE!!! I already did!!!! (made you jealous AND came home--hardeeharhar)

As for hair raising at OMAHA, you bet it was. Anybody who knows me will tell you that I have a great imagination if nothing else.
D Day was THE defining day of the US Army of the 20th century IMHO and it was the hugest undertaking up to that time
8 infantry divisions plus three airborne divisions all landing at the same or sequentially along 50+miles of coast. I hadnt realised that it was such a long stretch, from Pegasus bridge and Ouistreham on the east to the flooded pastures of the lower Cotentin

I'd seen all the movies about it, read the books but I guess i really didnt appreciate it untill I saw the terrain
Omaha beeach was much the worst in terms of blood spilled, I believe several thousands were killed here the first day. just walking on this beach and imagining several thousand dead American bodies on it was enough to raise the hair on my head, whatever I got left of it.
Omaha beach has the highest ground in facing it, I walked on all the others too and they only have shallow sand dunes. On Omaha there are some righteous size bluffs and ridges behind it> It takes n old line dog to stand there and appreciate loking up at at those ridges from th water, bristling with guns and hailing fire down on you and you can only think: They musta been shtting a square trd. It was a straight downhill shot on them for what must have been a quarter to a half mile at low tide, when they started landing. The idea was that the negineers in the first wave would blow up the obstacles allowing successive waves to be carried in further--this did not work out all that well
All the beach onstacles are gone now, no more Rommelspargen to trouble swimmers. But in The Day the whole beak bristled with them down to the low water line
It was a bloody massacre at the start. The Air bombardment fell mostly too far behind th beach defenses and the naval shelling didnt knock out most of the enemy guns as planned.
What you have to do is stand at the low water line and look up at the hills and appreciate getting from here to there, all the while half the german Army is trying to kill you. And don't forget: Its heavily mined. And also--theres no retreat.

Yeah stand at the bottom of that and think that and you will wind up saluting the guys who finally won this through sheer guts and perseverance, over the dead bodies of thousands of their comrades

[exlrrp]

The local museums are stuffed with equipment from Dday and theres one museum bout every 6 miles so theres lots of stuff to look at.
Lrrpsters traveling hint #71: Bring your own books in english, almost all the books they sell are in french.

heres a DUKW was used a lot on Utah Beach and other places, its built on the bed of a deuce and a half

[exlrrp]

"No mission too difficult
no sacrifice too great"

the First Div Monument at Omaha Beach

[exlrrp]

Tis is the view looking from the beach up to the cemeterey
I believe this was in Dog green sector

[exlrrp]

this IS the cemetery. You saw this in saving Private Ryan. and it is well worth seeing yourself in person. This may be the most beautiful thing I saw in Europe and definitely the most moving

[exlrrp]

theres still plenty of old bunkers for the teens to party in

[exlrrp]

Its most dramatic looking out through these old gun emplacements.
I bet the germans were doing some square trd shtting of their own looking out at 5000 boats, all of em hostile, must have been a site

[exlrrp]

some` of the old positions still have the guns

[MORTARDUDE]

James :

Super as usual !! Since you have a grunt's eye view of the real estate, any ideas on the pros and cons of the black and white "The Longest Day" and the color "Saving Private Ryan" movie versions of the real thing ?? .....it is a damned shame that so little live video footage of the first few hours of the D-Day invasion survived. A truly mammoth undertaking. You need to publish !! You have exceptional writing skills, in clear cut, no nonsense format. Grunt to grunt appreciation. The peace and the healing you have achieved thru your trip exudes right thru the computer screen. May God Richly Bless !!

Love you brother,

Larry

[the humper]

Thanks for the quality effort and time!!!!!!!!!!
SF
NC