I stepped onto Pointe du Hoc and was struck by the juxtaposition between the bloody past of war and the beauty of nature as new life has bloomed over recent decades. On 6 June 1944, Allied troops battled for control of the German stronghold. However, the topography was never to remain the same. Prior to the Allied landing, bomber planes had flown overhead, turning the once scenic peninsula into a smoking battlefield riddled with craters.
Looking at the Pointe now, 79 years later, it was hard to visualize just how horrific the scene of battle must have been. Rocks and chunks of grass spewed every which way from the bombs with possible spots of blood-stained dirt. In its place, life continued and nature grew from death, leaving Pointe du Hoc and the craters covered with luscious green grass and blooming flowers. How can such beauty exist in a place that saw so much violence and death?
In order to preserve the land, the American Battle Monuments Commission has erected fences across Pointe du Hoc that force visitors to walk within the allotted paths. Although these obstructions in some ways hindered my ability to take in the site, I found the intention admirable. Admirable because by protecting the land, France and the United States are preserving the memories of those lost in the battle at Pointe du Hoc. At the same time, the fences seem to demarcate the nature that has bloomed over the areas where so many lives were lost from the German bunkers that sit so dark and foreboding. No museum, no memorial could ever replace the visceral experience of standing where heroes of World War II fought for freedom. It’s as though the beauty of this place has grown in honor of the U.S. Army Rangers who fought and died at Pointe du Hoc. The nature that surrounds us sees and takes part in the cycle of life and each blade of grass at Pointe du Hoc will forever hold within it the memories of 6 June 1944.