Sailing on the ferry from Portsmouth to Normandy, the choppy waters of the English Channel were not the only thing that was causing my stomach to churn, for I was filled with both anticipation and dread of travelling to a truly foreign country for the first time. While Britain is certainly distinct from the United States in many aspects, the shared language and multitude of cultural similarities imparted a sense of familiarity and comfort that was conspicuously absent in France. Other than a few momentary misunderstandings, particularly regarding the disparate French and Anglophone understandings of what a “menu” is, my compatriots and I managed to survive without any major catastrophes. Noticing and adapting to different cultural norms, while far more daunting than London, was fascinating, exiting, and, in regard to the ubiquity of pastry shops and (relatively) inexpensive three-course meals, delicious.

However, the distinct French language and customs were not the only notable differences between France and the United Kingdom. Throughout Normandy and Paris, we visited a variety of museums, cemeteries, monuments, and historical sites that all conveyed different perspectives of World War II history. While all of these locations were intriguing and informative in their own right, the overall narratives and foci of the French museums contrast starkly with the formal, detached empiricism of the British sites. For one, many of the exhibits, particularly the American-funded Utah Beach and Airborne Museums, are quite narrowly focused on military affairs. Being a military history enthusiast, I greatly appreciated the plethora of military artifacts, OOB’s, and battle maps; while I believe that a thorough comprehension of the actual fighting in Normandy is both relevant to the location and crucial to a larger understanding of the war, the dominance of purely martial aspects occasionally risked reducing World War II to a mere campaign narrative. In contrast, the “more French” Caen Museum aspires to a far broader, more universal understanding of the war. By chronicling both the interwar and wartime periods and addressing most military, political, and social aspects, including the Eastern Front and the Holocaust, the Caen Museum attempted to convey a general message of the essence of total war and its calamitous effects on Europe. However, similar to the idiosyncrasies of British “empiricism,” this universalist lens has imperfections that reveal a distinctly French perception of the World War II period and its significance. While acknowledging Vichy collaboration and the relative paucity of vigorous resistance in occupied France, the museum delves very little into these subjects. Similarly, the exhibits oversimplify the participation of France’s empire in the war effort, largely neglecting the moral complexities of colonial exploitation. Simultaneously, the conspicuous passages on the deleterious effects of Allied bombing in Normandy, while valid, further underscores this French perspective.

Yet, compared to Les Invalides, the Caen Museum is a shining beacon of objectivity. The Army Museum in Paris, while fascinating in its display of militaria, presents a grossly distorted view of the war and France’s part in it. The ignominious defeat of 1940, collaboration, and the roles of other Allied countries (save the USSR, interestingly enough) are all swept aside by a cavalcade of French military “triumphs.” Even allowing for the inherently limited focus of the exhibit on the French military, the museum is almost ridiculous in its pro-French bias, particularly the effusive Charles de Gaulle exhibition. However, having viewed the broader picture of France’s military and political history in Les Invalides’ military pantheon and in the glittering halls of Versailles, I can largely understand the prevailing nationalistic tone of French museums. France possesses a rich history as a political, military, and cultural giant in Europe; at the same time, France faced great crises and deep divisions throughout the twentieth century and particularly during the world wars. While I can never condone the distortion of historical truth, I believe that France’s self-righteous and skewed view of the war is symptomatic of the country’s continuing struggle to define itself and achieve domestic political and social harmony.

Bonjour from Bayeux, France!

The last few days have been an absolute whirlwind. I’m currently writing this on the three hour bus ride between Bayeux and Paris, so hopefully I’m able to recall the majority of what I did in Bayeux the past few days.

May 14^th

Our first stop of the day was the Caen Memorial Museum. This museum was interesting because it was split down the middle to denote two eras in 20^th century conflict: the WWII era in the Normandy region, and post-WWII history in the Normandy region. My analysis of the museum will not be very thorough, because I never made it to the post-WWII side of the museum. One of my biggest challenges on this trip has been learning time allocation in museums – I just get too absorbed in the reading and the exhibits and completely lose all track of time.

The Caen Memorial Museum

That being said, I only had time to view the WWII and D-Day exhibits at the Caen museum. The WWII exhibit was extremely informative, thanks to a bounty of informational signs and posters that were arranged chronologically to allow people to follow the flow of WWII more easily. The artifacts were not as plentiful as they were at the Imperial War Museum in London, but the artifacts that were there helped tell the story of WWII just as well. The museum separated D-Day into its own exhibit – the operation was so large that it only made sense for there to be a separate exhibit for it in order to explore all of the intricacies of the planning and execution of Operation Overlord. As much as I enjoyed the parts of the museum that I did see, I regret not having allocated enough time to see the other side of the museum, which would have allowed me to have a more thorough interpretation of the museum as a whole.

After we left the Caen Memorial Museum, we took a trip out to the countryside to see the Pegasus Bridge. The capture of this bridge was of vital importance to the Allies. It allowed them to control a critical chokepoint in the road network that made it possible for the Allies to get vehicles, troops, and supplies further into France after the D-Day invasion. The way this operation was carried out was incredible – four Horsa gliders were dispatched to land on a narrow grass strip in between the river and a swamp, just south of the bridge.

The landing site of the Horsa Gliders, near the Pegasus Bridge.

The town near the bridge was controlled and inhabited by German troops, making it extremely risky. The operation went so smoothly that the Allies were able to capture the town and the bridge without a single shot being fired from either side. Seeing this bridge in person really gave me a greater appreciation for just how important this mission was to Allied success in the D-Day invasions. Additionally, as an aviator, I also had a greater appreciation for the skill of the Horsa glider pilots after seeing the “landing strip” on which they were forced to land. To land on such a narrow, short grass strip in the dead of night is extremely daunting and dangerous, and these pilots pulled it off almost perfectly. Reading about these missions in books or listening to lectures about them is one thing, but the significance and magnitude of a mission didn’t really hit me until I was actually there, on the actual ground where the history was made.

May 15^th

Coincidentally, the longest and busiest day we had yet also happened to be my favorite day yet in terms of historical sites visited. We began the day with a trip to Utah Beach. Utah Beach looked exactly how I had pictured it in my mind: rolling dunes, dark blue waters muddied by the churn of the sand, a large expanse of beach between the waves and the dunes, and a somber gray sky coupled with a brisk sea breeze to complete the scene.

View of Utah Beach from the dunes.

Seeing Utah Beach like this made it easy to imagine what it would have been like on the day that the Americans stormed the beach, but the feelings that those men must have felt can never truly be recreated. It was an extremely humbling experience to stand on the same beach that was the last thing that many men ever saw. It was hard to not get choked up thinking about the amount of young life lost on that beach, making it ever easier to imagine the waves running red and the beach littered with bodies. As beautiful and peaceful as the beach is now, it is hard to forget the dark history that occurred on those sands.

After visiting the beach, we toured the Utah Beach Memorial Museum just behind the dunes. This museum was surprisingly well planned and full of artifacts from the beach. Artifacts are my favorite part of museums because they are tangible evidence that D-Day actually happened, and each artifact has its own unique story behind it to explain why it ended up in the museum. This museum was not nationality-centric in any way, but was more aimed at education as a whole, making the inclusion of both sides of the fight significant. I did not feel as if the museum was trying to teach a lesson or send a message, but rather that the museum was there simply to show people what happened at that location and to present it in as unbiased of a way as possible. It was nice to tour a museum like this and enjoy it for what it was without trying to find some deeper meaning behind it.

Our next stop of the day was the town of St. Mere Eglise, the first town captured by the 101^st Airborne Division on the night prior to the D-Day invasions. The first thing that caught my eye in the town was the massive ancient church and, more surprisingly, a mannequin, dressed as a U.S. soldier, dangling from a parachute at the top of the church.

The church at St. Mere Eglise – note the paratrooper mannequin at the top left of the church.

Naturally, this piqued my curiosity, and I read the various signs to find out more information. Turns out that a man named John Steel, a paratrooper for the 101^st Airborne Division, got snagged on the church when his parachute became entangled on the church steeple upon landing in the village. The mannequin was placed there to recreate the scene and to attract tourists to the spot for a good photo op. After a quick lunch in town at a tiny café that played Elvis songs on a loop, we ventured over to the 101^st Airborne Museum. Despite the small size, I was taken aback by the abundant number of WWII military uniforms on display, hung proudly on a wide assortment of mannequins, ranging from garish to realistic to downright creepy, and everything in between.

D-Day artifacts recovered from Utah Beach.

The museum also boasted a large number of D-Day artifacts recovered from the beaches and donated by family members of those directly involved with the D-Day invasion. This museum was decisively in favor of the Allies based on the way in which the German artifacts were on display. While the Allied artifacts were on display in eye-catching locations, hung proudly for all to see, the German artifacts were often laid out in cases, as to not attract as much attention as the Allied artifacts. For such a tiny museum, they had a wonderful variety of displays and exhibits and did a fantastic job with making it as immersive and as hands-on as possible.

We once again boarded the bus for a short journey further into the French countryside to visit the Angoville au Plain church and cemetery. It was used as a hospital for both Allied and German soldiers during WWII, making it an extremely unique location, as both sides agreed not to attack this building. One exception to this was when a mortar crashed through the ceiling of the church, but thankfully, the mortar was a dud and did not explode.

The hole in the ceiling from the mortar.

The hole in the ceiling and crack on the tile floor from this mortar are still visible even today. This church was strangely peaceful and relaxing, despite the turbulent history of its location some 70 years ago.

The crack in the floor from where the mortar landed.

The church has been dedicated as a monument and is open to the public so they can view its history for themselves firsthand.

The last location of the day was a quick stop by the German Cemetery at La Cambe. The first thing that drew my attention was the massive line of uniformly spaced trees that lined the outer perimeter of the cemetery. Upon closer investigation, each tree had a plaque placed under it in memoriam to a German soldier who had perished in the Normandy region of WWII. The cemetery itself was extremely imposing, in line with classic German architecture of the time. There were several blocks of graves, denoted by a series of 5 dark black stone crosses, followed by hundreds of smaller, flat gravestones for the multitudes of soldiers buried there.

German cemetery at La Cambe.

In the middle of the cemetery was a massive mound containing the remains of hundreds of unidentified German soldiers. It was topped by a massive black stone monument of a cross, looking down ominously over the rest of the cemetery. This cemetery seemed to send the ominous, foreboding message that war is a terrible thing and should be avoided at all costs. The massive number of graves and dark stones made this message resonate with chilling intensity.

May 16^th

This was another marathon day for us, cramming in several important locations into one day. The first stop of the day was Pointe du Hoc, the strategic location that the U.S. Army Rangers were tasked with conquering on D-Day. This location was hands-down my favorite location that we had visited yet for several reasons. Not only was the location extremely scenic, with wide, sweeping views of the English Channel and sheer, vertical cliffs, but because the scene was virtually intact from its D-Day condition. The craters, created by naval artillery shells and mortars, were abundant and scattered throughout the battlefield.

The cliffs at Pointe du Hoc.

The bunkers, created and used by the Nazis, were (mostly) still standing in the condition they had been left in after the fighting had stopped on D-Day. Some bunkers were completely destroyed, reduced to nothing but a pile of rubble, while others were still intact and able to be navigated by the adventurous soul wishing to gain a firsthand glimpse at history. The main gun battery, on the tip of Pointe du Hoc, still had the charred wooden ceilings in place from where the Americans had flamed out all of its Nazi inhabitants, killing everyone inside. Here, history was tangible, palpable, and real.

Ruins of Nazi fortifications at Pointe du Hoc.

Being in the actual location of such a significant battle gives you a much greater appreciation for its significance than learning about it in a classroom ever could. The visit was perfected by not only the beautiful, sunny weather, but by a high-speed low pass performed by a French Air Force fighter jet, clearly showing off for all the visitors. I left Pointe du Hoc feeling refreshed and invigorated by the sea breeze and sunshine, but also with a greater appreciation of the challenges faced by the Army rangers who scaled the cliffs, defeated the Nazis, and helped liberate France.

Our visit to Pointe du Hoc was followed up by a trip to the most infamous beach in the D-Day invasions, Bloody Omaha Beach. Surprisingly, my visit to Omaha beach was in stark contrast to my visit to Utah Beach, and not necessarily in a good way either. The weather at Omaha Beach that day was hot and full of brilliant sunshine, which did not fit the weather conditions of the D-Day invasions in the slightest bit, already ruining the mental picture I had.

Omaha Beach D-Day memorial.

The image was further ruined by the incessant swarms of gnats and flies, which proved to be an unavoidable nuisance for the entire extent of our stay on Omaha Beach. Perhaps the most disturbing part of the visit was the juxtaposition of the beach, the deathbed of thousands of young men, to the multimillion dollar vacation homes, just on the other side of the street, coupled by the screaming French schoolchildren who were using the D-Day memorial monument as their jungle gym. This was extremely upsetting to me for several reasons. One being that I always envisioned the atmosphere at Omaha Beach to be one of heavy sincerity and reverence to the sacrifices made there, when in reality the return to complete normality had taken over in the form of noisy, inconsiderate schoolchildren and commercial development of beach homes and burger shacks. To me, it seemed that the French had attempted to cover up the history of this location in order to make money, completely disregarding the significance of the location aside from the two monuments dedicated to the forces that took the beach back from the hands of evil that day. Try as I might to see Omaha Beach as it was on June 6^th, 1944, I cannot. My mind is forever clouded by the image of beach homes and a carefree lifestyle taking precedence over perhaps the most historic moment of WWII that ultimately changed the course of the war, and liberated the country that was taking advantage of its monetarily profitable location.

Feeling sunburned, annoyed, and disappointed, we left Omaha Beach for our final stop of the day, the American Cemetery. Before entering the cemetery, we went through the memorial museum that displayed the story of WWII on exhibit plaques, as well as personal accounts from soldiers in the war. We viewed a short video about the cemetery, during which I felt myself get choked up several times, realizing just how intense this experience was about to be. Upon entering the cemetery, I was immediately overwhelmed with the sheer magnitude of uniform, white marble crosses that were staring me right in the face.

U.S. WWII memorial in Normandy.

The museum said over 9,000 soldiers were buried at the cemetery, but a number that large does not truly resonate with you until you’re standing face to face with row up on row upon never ending row of crosses, beneath which a proud American soldier was buried after giving the ultimate sacrifice. Even thinking about it now, it is hard to not get choked up thinking about these men and the sacrifice they made for their country in a time of need, and it is not hard to see why these people are commonly referred to as The Greatest Generation. This location was the most emotional that I had visited, and after planting the Ohio State flag at the grave of my fellow aviator and Buckeye, Roger Dyer, I found myself wandering the rows of graves, trying to imagine the name on the grave as young man, full of promise for a better future, and not just a name on a grave. It was an extremely humbling experience to be surrounded by so many true American heroes.

Rows upon rows of fallen soldiers.

The American cemetery evoked an entirely difference message than that of the German cemetery. Instead of feeling apologetic, this cemetery exuded resounding American pride and excellence. It was much brighter in color than the German cemetery, and the actual size of the cemetery was much larger, making the cemetery seem like it was making a bolder statement: these headstones should be held in proud regard and seen as honorable sacrifices, rather than as a ominous lesson that war is hell, such as in the German cemetery.

May 17^th

This was the “lightest” of the days we were in Bayeux in terms of sites visited and historical lessons learned. We began the day with a break from WWII history to travel back in time to the medieval era of 1077, when the famous Bayeux Tapestry was created. This tapestry, over 230 feet long, was created to tell the story of the Norman conquest of England. While not directly related to WWII history, it was still incredible to see a historical relic that has survived nearly a thousand years in near perfect conditions, despite switching ownership several times and nearly being burned several times. The entire time, I could not shake the feeling that Monty Python and the Holy Grail was based off of this tapestry, and I could almost hear the theme music playing in the background as I toured the museum.

We then boarded our bus and drove out to Arromanches, or Gold Beach, one of the British D-Day invasion beaches.

Arromanches, or Gold Beach. In the distance, you can still see the ruins of the Mulberry Harbor in the water.

Here, we took part in the Arromanches 360 experience, in which we stood in a 360-degree movie theatre room, where scenes from WWII and D-Day were projected in high-definition on 9 different screens and supported by surround sound speaker systems. This experience, while only 20 minutes long, was incredible because it was as close as we could get to living in the moment of WWII era events. I got chills when Hitler’s “Triumph of the Will” speech was projected, his voice booming around us, and thousands upon thousands of German civilians cheering him on were projected on the surrounding screens. It was surreal to be immersed in an experience like that, and truly chilling to experience an extent of what they experienced for only a few moments. The D-Day scenes were even more intense, with explosions and gunfire erupting from all angles. As devastating as WWII was to the world, I would love to be able to travel back in time to experience the world as it was during that extremely pivotal time in history.

May 18^th

This day was relatively short in the fact that we only went to one location, Mont Sain Michel, which isn’t really related to WWII history in any way. The island was remarkable to see, and something that was high up on my bucket list after my parents said that it was the one location they missed on their honeymoon to France almost 23 long years ago.

Mont Saint Michel looming in the distance, shrouded by the dense fog.

The history of the island and the abbey itself was incredible, and it looked like something that was straight out of a fairy tale. The weather was absolutely miserable that day, with the fog and rain distracting from the splendor of the location, but the architecture and the history of the buildings made up for the unfortunate meteorological conditions.

Later that day, we had a group dinner at the Duke of Normandy restaurant, courtesy of the generous benefactors of the History of WWII Study Abroad program group. Here we had traditional French food for dinner, the perfect sendoff before our trek to Paris early the next morning.

Overall, Bayeux was a whirlwind of experiences, both of the historical nature and those made in present times. I will never forget the sensation of feeling the cool sand of Utah Beach between my toes, the brisk waters of Omaha beach wash over my feet, and the invigorating sea breeze of Point du Hoc whip through my hair. I will also remember Bayeux as the place where our group of 23 travelers came together as a cohesive unit, bonding over Carrefour baguettes by the pool and enjoying the simple pleasure of watching a French countryside sunset together.

Making friends and memories in Bayeux.

*Posts are obviously a few days behind schedule.

We arrived to France by ferry. The first day we settled into the hotel. It had been a long day, and after being away from home for a week Brittany Habbart, Chris Herrel and I were craving American food. So, we went to the one place I never go to at home – McDonalds. It never tasted so good.
The next day we visited the Museum of War and Peace. This museum commemorates World War II and the Battle for Caen. It is dedicated to the history of violence and conflict in the 20th century. The museum opened on 6 June 1988, the 44th anniversary of D-Day. The thing I noticed most about this museum compared to other museums I have visited is that it consist of much more reading. I thoroughly appreciated the information given. Instead of having a simple excerpt pertaining to a piece in front of you, the museum was organized in chronological order providing the main details of the war.
Our next stop was Pegasus Bridge. Pegasus Bridge, originally referred to as the Benouville Bridge, was built in 1934 across the Caen Canal. In World War Two control of the bridge was the objective of Operation Deadstick. This operation was in preparation for the Allied invasion of Normandy. Control of the bridge was imperative in limiting the effectiveness of a Germany counter-attack following the Allied invasion. The bridge was renamed in honor of the soldiers who captured it. Today, a replica stands in its place, while the original bridge is now displayed in a museum.
As we made our way to Utah Beach we made a stop at the Statue of Major R.D. Winters. Winters was a solider of the United States Army. He commanded Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Division during WWII. Easy Company parachuted into Normandy early in the morning on D-Day, June 6th, 1944. Their objective was to capture the entrances to and clear any obstacles around the route selected for Allied forces. Immediately issues arose. Winters and his men landed without a single weapon. Easy Company were using British designed leg packs, which held their belongings and weapons. As soon as Easy Company jumped the packs were torn away. Easy Company landed completely unarmed. Even so, Winter’s and his company charged on, securing the way.

Utah Beach

Utah Beach was the code name for one of the five areas where the Allies invaded German-occupied France on D-Day. It is located on the Cotentin Peninsula. Amphibious landings were undertaken by the United States Army, with support of the United States Navy. The objective was to secure the beachhead, the location of the vital port of Cherbourg. We spent some time at the Musee du Debrquement de Utah Beach. This museum detailed and highlighted some of the important parts of the Normandy invasion at Utah. Throughout the museum were some personal articles, such as letters, from soldiers displayed. Personal items are always my favorite. Most of these men and women fell in combat. I think reading there personal letters is the closest we could ever come to the mindset of the men and women who gave their lives. It’s incredibly humbling.
We made a quick stop at St. Mere Eglise. It’s a small town that witnessed some of the first fighting after the D-Day invasion. It was one of the first towns to be liberated. While in town we made a stop at the Musée Airborne. This museum is dedicated to the memory of American paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st airborne divisions who parachuted into Normandy on the night of June 5th and 6th of 1944.
We ventured on to Angeoville au Plain Church. This church was used by 2 US Army Medics, Robert White (a fellow buckeye) and Ken Moore of the 101st Airborne, as an aide station during the Battle of Normandy. White and Moore treated 80 injured soldiers, American and German. The story behind this little church is amazing. Two men came together and saved the lives of not just their comrades, but their enemies. To them the injured were not G.I.s and Nazis, but simply men in need of help. Robert White survived the war and passed on some years ago. Half of his ashes are buried on the church grounds, the other half back home.

St. Mere Eglise

Our last stop of the day was the German cemetery. This cemetery contains roughly 21,000 German military personnel of World War II. As staggering as that number is, it is not the only Germany cemetery of WWII causalities. The cemetery, as all are, was sad. The layout of the cemetery, together with the dark grave stones and simplicity, made the experience harrowing. Seeing grave stone after grave stone, most the final resting place of two men (as space was limited), was overwhelmingly depressing. At the center was a mound of the unknown. This is the resting place and dedication to those dead who were unidentifiable. That was the most heartbreaking. So many families were never given an answer to the fate of their loved one. So many of the fallen are never to be known. Something that I thought of while walking the grounds is the idea that while these men were on the wrong side of history, they were fighting for their home. The Nazi regime rained hell upon Europe, claiming so many innocent lives. But the men buried here, these soldiers, were not all fighting for Nazi ideals, they were fighting for their home and their family, others forced into service. Most of these soldiers were my age, many younger. They were left with an unbelievable burden and deserve to be remembered.

The next day we visited Point du Hawk, Omaha beach and the American cemetery. Point du Hoc is a promontory with a cliff overlooking the English Channel. The German army fortified the area. On D-Day the United States Army Rangers were tasked with the objective to capture Point du Hoc to ensure that the German 155m guns would not threaten the Allies during the invasion and to prevent the Germans from using the area for observation. Omaha beach, another area of the Normandy coastline invaded on D-Day, had a heartbreaking story surrounding the fates of the “Bedford Boys”. Company A of the 116th, a former National Guard unit, was comprised of 35 men from Bedford, Virginia. Company A participated in the initial wave invading Omaha and was slaughtered. With war, these sort of casualties were not uncommon. However, what is so devastating is that Bedford, a town so small that everyone knew just about everybody, began receiving telegrams informing families about their loss one after another. A total of 22 young men lost their lives. Everyone in Bedford was affected by the devastation.

Point du Hoc

Point du Hoc

The American cemetery, which overlooked the water, was beautiful. The thing that stood out to me most, which I thoroughly appreciated, was that while a theme of the cemetery was uniformity, those who were of the Jewish faith were buried with the Star of David as the headstone, not a cross. The cemetery remembered the men lost in typical grand American fashion and highlighted the cause for which they fought. A quote that is located inside the accompanying museum by the doors which leads to the cemetery sums it up quite well – “If ever proof were needed that we fought for a cause and not for conquest it could be found in these cemeteries. Here was our only conquest: All we asked…was enough soil in which to bury our gallant dead.” (General Mark W. Clark)
The next day consisted of the Bayeux Tapestry, the Arromanches 360 Theater and the British cemetery. The Bayeux Tapestry, an embroidered cloth nearly 70 meters long depicting the entente leading up to the Norman conquest of England, was interesting. The museum that accompanied it, not so much. We saw a short video at the Arromaches 360 Theater that I found intense. The theater overlooks the water where several Mulberries, or artificial harbors, are located that were used during the D-Day invasion. The British cemetery was our last stop. It was my favorite out of the three. The graves in the cemetery were personalized with an inscription picked by the family located at the bottom of the grave stone. This personalization made the tremendous loss of life much more real. The surrounding area, just like the German and American cemetery, was beautifully sad.
Our last day consisted of a day trip to Mont. St. Michel. I was very excited about this. Mont. St. Michel is an island commune in Normandy, France. The island is home to a monastery which bears the same name. The position of the island made it accessible to pilgrims during low tide. During high tide the island was nearly impenetrable. Today, the abbey is home to a handful of monks and nuns.

Mont St. Michel

We were in Bayeux for about a week. The quaint little town was beautiful, almost like it was straight out of a storybook. Our next stop in France was Paris. I loved Paris. I hope I’ll be able to come back one day. We were there for just a few days and it was most certainly
enough.

While in Paris our group visited the Memorial de Martyrs de la Déportation and the Musée de l’Armée. The memorial was my favorite stop in Paris. The memorial is dedicated to the 200,000 people who were deported from Vichy France to the Nazi concentration camps. What I appreciated most was the inclusiveness of the memorial. European Jewry was by far the most devastated by the Nazi regime. However, I think it is important to remember that not all victims were of the Jewish faith. The memorial does not simple recognize the deportation of French Jews, but all those who were deported under the Vichy regime.
What I took away most from my time in France are the various ways the war is remembered. In the United States it was the “Good War.” Our cemetery is grand and beautiful. American boys fought and died for people they have never met and never would meet. The British cemetery was personalized and very much representative of the “People’s War.” The German cemetery on the other hand, while peaceful, was very dark. I feel as if Germany rightly so remembered their dead and remembered the destruction it caused. The difference, however, between the German cemetery and the American and British, is that it did not remember the cause. The American and British cemetery highlighted that the soldiers lost their lives defending the ideals of freedom, while the German cemetery did not emphasize Nazi ideals. Instead, they highlighted each individual man whose life was cut short.

Our next stop on this study tour was Bayeux, France. This is a small, quaint town in Normandy. A place where crime is nonexistent, laundry is eighty-five cents for every five minutes and it is impossible to find an open restaurant at 4 pm on a Sunday. Despite my laundry meltdown and lack of bread and cheese for a few short hours, I really liked this location.

As a group, we visited the Bayeux tapestry. It was wonderful. The tapestry is 230 feet long and 20 inches wide. When you walk alongside it while listening to the audio device they provide, you get to hear the story of Harold and William fighting to be King of England. Each scene is numbered so you follow in order as the audio narrates the story and points out specific images to look at. It would say, “Notice how Harold has his hands on different holy relics while he swears his allegiance to William. William was concerned that Harold might betray him so he wanted to ensure that the oath was binding.” Pointing out these specific images was helpful when we reached the end of the story.

Harold swearing his allegiance to William

Harold promised to recognize William as King of England in front of God and when he betrayed William, he suffered the consequences in the battle for England.

Another reason I enjoyed the tapestry was that I understood some of the language written on it. I studied Latin for four years in high school and that helped me translate some simple words before the audio explained what was happening. That’s part of why I loved the tapestry so much. I felt connected to it since I could translate the language when in Bayeux I did not understood what people said in French.

On our second day in France, I had to give a site report on a specific book I read which covered a topic in WWII. I decided to read Pegasus Bridge by Stephen Ambrose.

Pegasus Bridge

It follows Major John Howard and his team as they execute Operation Deadstick. My report was nerve-racking. While I was excited to share their story, it was intimidating to talk in front of my peers about a topic I cared so much about. I stood in the exact location that Major John Howard and his team landed three Horsa gliders to capture the Bénouville Bridge (later renamed Pegasus Bridge in honor of the 6^th Airborne Division) on June 6^th, 1944. Their story is incredible. The timing of their landings was so exact and they overcame the Germans guarding the bridge within ten minutes of their arrival. How could I do the story justice? I was standing next to the bridge, across the river from Café Gondrée and it was as if the pages of the book came to life.

Café Gondrée

I’m mentioning the café, which might seem unrelated to a military operation, because the Gondrée family did reconnaissance for the Allies before they landed the gliders on D-Day. That café has been around for over seventy years.  According to Ambrose, the Gondrées were the first people liberated in France. Seeing the café made me feel more connected to the site than seeing the bridge. It truly was an amazing experience.

During our stay in Bayeux, we visited three cemeteries. One honoring the German soldiers who died in battle, another honoring American soldiers, and the last one which honored British soldiers. They all differed from each other.

German Cemetery

In the case of the Germans, they lost the war. I felt as though their cemetery centered on respecting and honoring the dead. There was no focus on glory or success. German graves were very simple. Several young men would be listed on the same stone. The only information was their names and their date of birth to the day they died. It was terrible that so many teenagers were in those graves. Despite the terrible actions of the Nazis, I still value life and the young men were barely able to live theirs. I was most affected by the soldiers who died between the ages of fifteen and seventeen. I have two brothers in that age range. I hate to think what would have happened to them if we lived during the war.

The following day we visited the American cemetery. Unlike the German graves, these were large and honored each individual soldier. Even the unidentified men received a tombstone. The cemetery was packed with people paying their respects whereas the German cemetery was rather empty. For America, WWII was labeled “The Good War” and as a result, soldiers were honored for their glory and bravery. We won so our soldiers were our champions. There’s a quote I found about this cemetery that I want to share:

“There’s a graveyard in northern France where all the dead boys from D-Day are buried. The white crosses reach from one horizon to the other. I remember looking it over and thinking it was a forest of graves. But the rows were like this, dizzying, diagonal, perfectly straight, so after all it wasn’t a forest but an orchard of graves. Nothing to do with nature, unless you count human nature.” -Barbara Kingsolver

I believe it does a great job of describing the graves while also emphasizing the tragedy that comes with war. Young, brave soldiers died. This included several Ohio State students. I placed a flag on the grave of one. It is crazy to think that he had gone to the same school I attend currently, but he never made it home.

The Ohio State University flag next to the grave of a fallen Buckeye

Graves of American soldiers including the grave of Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

British graves commemorating the lives of three soldiers who practiced different religions

Lastly, we visited the British Cemetery. For the British, WWII was “The People’s War.” The graves reflected this sentiment in the sense that they were all individualized. For the American graves, they were all the same. The only differences were that the headstones either had a cross or star of David on them. The British cemetery recognized all religions. Family members could customize what they wanted the graves to say. The focus was on each soldier which was something that we did not see in the American or German cemeteries.

Next stop, Paris.

As we traveled into France, I couldn’t help but be wary of what my experience was going to be in the country. I think that France is spoken of so highly that I almost expected to be underwhelmed by the country. Truthfully, I found France to be absolutely breathtaking and worthy of all the positive reviews it receives. We began our time in France in the northern coastal city of Bayeux. The area that we stayed in looked very much like the older part of the city with narrow one way roads and buildings that looked at least a century old. The city was characterized most distinctly by a large cathedral that was built in the 11^th century.

Main street of Bayeux

Bayeux is in close proximity to both Utah and Omaha beach where the beach landings occurred for the D-Day invasions. We visited both beaches as well as Pointe du Hoc. Going to the beaches and actually standing where these events took place allowed me to gain a better understanding of the she

Utah Beach

er undertaking that was needed for those landings. I was actually surprised by the ways in which people used the beaches in present day.I thought that there wouldn’t really be any people on these beaches accept for tourists or school groups. There were actually very nice, what I assumed to be, beach front vacation homes on and around some of the cliffs of Omaha beach and there were people having picnics on the sand with their families and playing games. Omaha was the more lively of the two beaches and I think that how active the beach was, took away from seeing and experiencing that specific beach to its full capacity. Within the museums at the varying museums in the Normandy area, I got the continued message that the allied invasion was welcomed by the French but it was also a source of tension because of the destruction of the pre-invasion bombings.

Remains of ship from landings on Omaha Beach

While in Normandy we also visited the German, American, and British cemeteries. I was truly amazed by how different the locations and the set-up of the cemeteries were. The German cemetery was located next to a highway away from the beaches. It had sets of 5 crosses placed sporadically throughout with a large monument in the middle. This site did not seem to be well traveled and had a very somber feel to it. Aside from the lack of people, the small brown graves that were embedded in the ground made the area seem much more open and empty. These graves were also generally honoring two soldiers which added to the magnitude of death that could be felt there. Walking into the American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach, I was struck by how large it was. There was row after row of white crosses that I think accurately depicted the destruction that the soldiers were faced with during the beach landings. The memorial at the beginning of the museum depicted a muscular man with his arms outstretched. The memorial at the beginning of the museum depicted a muscular man with his arms outstretched. I feel that this monument helped to depict the youth of many of the soldiers memorialized at the cemetery and worked to actively celebrate their service.  This gave the cemetery a more commemorative feel and there was a great sense of honor and pride that could be felt from those within the site. The British cemetery was the last cemetery and was not the largest or most extravagant but its layout memorialized its occupants in the most fulfilling way. The headstones were all engraved with different sayings and pictures unlike the headstones from the other sites which were all for the most part incredibly uniform. The diversity of those who were memorialized here was unexpected. There were Muslims, Jews, and Germans represented outside of the British soldiers which highlighted how far reaching the conflict was and how many different types of people were affected. I really got the sense that this was a place of peace and rest for those buried there. I think these aspects made me more appreciative of this site.

In France, for me, was the first real time culture shock was felt on this trip. It was when I heard people speaking a language I was hardly familiar with and there was just a different way in which people did things. In Bayeux, everything seemed to close very early. By 7pm, the main street had many of its stores closed and on Sunday, it was almost impossible to find anywhere to eat because so many places didn’t open on that day. The sun also set very late, around 10:30 pm, in all of France which is something I was not used to and it really influenced the way that I perceived time while there. Paris was more similar to what had been seen previously in London but there was a noticeable uptick in the amounts of PDA shown which is definitely outside of the norm elsewhere. I did feel like England and France were similar in the arrangement of living spaces. In both countries, within urban areas, houses were very close together, it seemed like houses had barely any yard space on the sides and had minimal amounts of space in the backyard area. I assume the closeness in living areas is due to the age of the cities and the need for space as the cities expanded. Still, I feel like in the suburbs there would be more room to spread out which I didn’t notice in either country. I look forward to our travel to Poland where I expect there will be much more stark cultural differences from America and even Western Europe.

It is an amazing experience to be staying within one of the few French towns that was spared from destruction during the Battle of Normandy. It is a real blessing to be able to walk down the original narrow cobblestone sidewalks of Bayeux and to be able to sit outside, on the lawn, shadowed by Notre Dame du Bayeux – the cathedral constructed in 1077. The majority of the other French towns that lay within the path of the Normandy Invasion were destroyed by either street fighting or strategic bombing. This area of France paid an enormous price for liberation. The men fighting for the liberation also paid an enormous toll. These last few days, I was able to tour the German, American, and British cemeteries, which house the many casualties resulting from the invasion. I compared each cemetery and each of the sites appeared, through their architecture, to highlight what the country saw as important in the after war period.

Bayeux Cathedral

Americans have always succeeded in making bold statements. As I walked through the huge marbled cemetery looking upon the 9,387 clean white stones, I kept looking out at the ocean, which the cemetery overlooks. The cemetery is clearly memorializing the “Spirit of Youth” – as the statue in its center is rightfully named. This is depicted throughout the memorial, from the sacrifice stories in the well-organized museum to the continuous list of names read over the loud speakers. Each story in the museum highlighted the everyday individual who achieved a collective courage. Having visitors walk through the museum first, then step out into the gigantic cemetery, really paints in bold relief sacrifices that occurred near these very beaches. I was reminded of Arlington National Cemetery – how each stone is symmetrical and identical for row upon row, which depicts the sheer amount of sacrifices that young American men endured. One thing that really struck me was, as I walked, I noticed that every stone, rather then facing the entrance, faced out toward America.

American Cemetary

We visited many sites that hammered in the idea of American unity and collective sacrifice, such as Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach, Utah Beach and Pegasus Bridge. Omaha and Utah Beach were not what I imagined before my trip. After reading many first-person sources regarding the planning and execution of the Normandy landings, I expected a large memorial to honor the 425,000 Allied and German troops who were killed. While a memorial was present on the beach, massive beach houses and fancy seafood restaurants that advertised names like “Overlord” surrounded it. Seeing the beaches really helped me understand the full invasion plan and appreciate the sacrifices of A Company at Dog Green on Omaha Beach. While the beach was much less somber than I imagined – the research I did prior to the trip really helped me to understand the strategic importance behind each landing.

Postwar Germany faced a difficult task between honoring their dead and not memorializing their deeds. The German cemetery was bleak with simple architecture. Many, if not all, of the headstones were shared between two men. Rather than facing out towards their country, these stones were flat and only faced the heavens. No silver hearts or iron crosses were written under the names of officers, only their rank, birth, and death. There were very few flowers or tokens of grief at each headstone, unlike the American and British cemeteries. The cemetery was simple and uniform, but lacked the dramatic impact that the American and British cemeteries carried. These were still young men and, while they fought for the wrong side, they were also fathers, sons, and husbands. Each man buried there left behind a future. I think the architectural message, especially based on the museum, is the promotion of peace. The Germans do not deny their wrongs and certainly do not memorialize them. The Germans strive to promote peace and show that the loss of life, no matter the side, is wasteful and should be avoided at all cost.

The cemetery that left the biggest impression on me was the British cemetery. Unlike the state commissioned stones at the American and German cemeteries, the British cemetery let the family of each of the dead customize their stones. This personalization really brought forth the British idea of the “People’s War.” The British believe that all fallen soldiers should be memorialized. Within this national cemetery lie, not only British citizens, but Polish, Czechs, Muslims, Jamaicans, and many more young soldiers who lost their lives during the invasion. Each inscription on the graves serves as a way of making the man who lies there not just another number in the high amount of casualties, but an individual. There were inscriptions from parents, children, and wives who memorialized the dead buried below. Each grave also was decorated with a wide range of flowers so that not one grave lay barren. This cemetery highlighted the sacrifice of the person rather than the group – turning numbers back into people.

Headstone in British Cemetary

As I was walking through the Caen Memorial Museum I noted a ratted and torn Nazi flag. I was reminded, from this, of an old poem titled, “Ozymandias” by Percy Shelley. In this poem a traveller comes upon a ruin in the middle of a barren land. Upon this crumbled statue is the inscription, “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look at my works, ye mighty, and despair!” Nothing remains, during the time of the traveller, but a lone decayed embodiment of what was. I have begun to compare Hitler’s Regime to that of Ozymandias. As Hitler built his empire, his followers and soldiers must have really believed they were building a great power that would attest the wrath of time. All of these flags, bronze eagles, and insignias that I pass in these various museums were made with an aspiration of grand legacy. How amazing it is to now to see the remains of this empire that completely crumbled away in only twelve years – ye is no longer mighty.

Tattered Flag

During my time in Bayeux, I also saw the Bayeux Tapestry and Mont St. Michele. I have studied the Bayeux Tapestry since my freshmen year – when I was also studying anthropology. The Tapestry, often referred to as the first comic strip, is one of the best-preserved pieces of art from the 11th century. Commissioned in 1066 to celebrate the coronation of William the Conquer, this visit really melded well with my other visits to both Notre Dame de Bayeux and Westminster Abbey. The survival of the ornate detail, that remains intact after nine centuries, is truly miraculous. I really wish I could revisit the tapestry and spend hours studying all the pictures and hidden gems – it seems like one of those works where you notice something new each time you view it. Mont St. Michele was stunning with its gravity-defying medieval architecture. It was rainy, foggy and dreary during our visit, which is my absolute favorite weather. I felt like I was crossing the misty and haunting moors of Bronte’s, “Withering Heights.” From a distance, the abbey really does appear to be something out of Dracula. Its spires and dramatic location upon an island, surrounded by farmlands, really makes it look foreboding. The inside of the abbey was stunning and I really felt transported back to the medieval period.

Off to Paris tomorrow. Still humble.

This week in Bayeux has been a heavy dose of history and carbs. We began the week with the Caen World War II Museum, followed by a trip to Pegasus Bridge, where Charlie O’Brien delivered an informative site report on why capturing the bridge was important for the Allies. We visited Utah Beach and the Nazi bunker on it, then had the opportunity to contrast it with the steep cliffs of Omaha Beach and the artificial ports at Gold Beach. We explored Pointe du Hoc, which was a vital German strongpoint between Omaha and Utah Beach. We visited the German, American, and British cemeteries, the Arromanche 360 degree theater, the small town of St. Mere-Eglise, the Bayeux Tapestry, and Mont St. Michel.

Reminding everyone that we attend the Ohio State University at the top of the Pointe du Hoc cliffs

As I did in my first blog, I’d like to focus on a few sites that left the biggest impressions on me. Beginning at Pointe du Hoc, we walked through many Nazi bunkers and got a better understanding of what the fighting looked like from their perspective. Walking along the edge of the massive and steep cliffs illustrated  how daunting the task of the 2^nd Rangers was to scale the cliffs and destroy crucial German guns.

The second area I want to focus on is the cemeteries we visited. The German, American, and British cemeteries all provided a somber reminder of just how young many of the troops on all sides were. Many of the soldiers who died at Normandy were born after my grandfather, who recently celebrated his 97^th birthday.

We first visited the German cemetery, which was orderly and serious. The cemetery was very uniform, with plaques in rows listing the rank, name, and dates of birth and death of each fallen German. Between the rows, clusters of five crosses were interspersed. Unlike in the American and British cemeteries, the landscaping was plain. The cemetery was surrounded by trees, but there was no color other than the green grass and gray plaques and crosses. OK. Here’s proper description.

The La Cambe German Cemetery in Bayeux, France

The American cemetery had many similarities, but was significantly larger. Like the German cemetery, it was very uniform, with each tombstone containing the same information. The American cemetery overlooked Omaha Beach, where many of the Americans in the cemetery lost their lives in their fight to liberate France. This allows the cemetery to memorialize not only the men that died there, but also their cause.

The American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach

However, neither of these cemeteries provoked more thought on this account than the British cemetery. Unlike the uniformity of the first two cemeteries, the British cemetery added a personal touch by allowing family members of the fallen British troops to add a short quote to the tombstone. From poetic verses like “A wonderful nature so loving and kind, a beautiful memory left behind” to lines as simple as “Until we meet again,” each grave reminded that for every serviceman that was killed, a number of people lost a loved one too soon. A tombstone that particularly stuck out to me was that of a 28-year old Private, which bluntly read, “Some day we will understand.” These cemeteries, along with Brandon Fawbush’s compelling site report on the annihilation of the American 29^th division at Omaha Beach, served as a chilling reminder that there is nothing glamorous about war. To think of war as a game undermines the massive and devastating human cost that comes with it.

The British Cemetery in Bayeux, France

We are now settled in comfortably in Krakow, Poland, where I will be posting from soon!

Au revoir France,

js

Also, here are some pictures from Paris:

Onward to France! We began our stay in France at the town of Bayeux, for it is near the beaches of the D-Day invasion and it was the first town to be liberated during the Battle of Normandy. We visited a variety of museums while in the Normandy region, and these museums told a different story than the ones in London. The London museums were very Anglo-centric and gave minimal credit to the Americans in comparison to the French museums. The British museums were focused on the idea of the People’s War, so they generally portrayed how the British people experienced the war.

The French museums provided a better view of American involvement, but they too had their own spin on things. Most of the French museums made it a point to talk about the French resistance every chance they could get, and the museums would often exaggerate the role played by the resistance to make it seem like it was a much bigger movement with more involvement than it really was. The museums at Caen, Utah, and Omaha were better about giving a straightforward telling of events without putting too much of a French bias on things, but the Army museum in Paris was a bit of a different case.

View from the bluffs behind Utah Beach

Ohio flag hanging in the airborne museum

Pratt & Whitley Double Wasp Engine. Twin row 18 cylinder radial engine used in the B26

The Army museum managed to completely gloss over why the French fell to the Germans so quickly in 1940. The museum made the argument that the French fought hard and very well against the Germans but that the Germans had won, but it fails to mention how the Germans managed to win if the French had fought so hard and well. This museum also played up the resistance more than any other, and it even had a section inside the resistance section dedicated to the feats of resistance fighters than were blind. The De Gaulle Wing of the museum was essentially a large piece of propaganda in favor of De Gaulle. The basis of the whole exhibit was that De Gaulle was great and that all the French people wanted him to be in power, but it then mentions that when he ran for re-election in 1965 he had a much lower number of votes than expected. Deductive reasoning would reach the conclusion that not quite all French people were in favor of De Gaulle, but the museum glosses over this fact too.

My cohorts, Tyler and Ian, and I in a crater at Pointe Du Hoc

Overall the museums were pleasant once the French bias was out of the way, and the trips to Utah and Omaha beach were just as great as I had hoped for. Pointe Du Hoc was a sight to behold with all the craters from the bombing, and being able to go inside the remaining German bunkers was a very enriching experience.

Martin B-26 Marauder

Now we are off to Poland for a quick few days before we reach the final leg of the trip to Berlin. I’ll be checking back in very soon with the word on Poland.

Our arrival in Bayeux, France introduced many of us to a truly different culture. Where Londoners shared our love of the English language, most the people in Bayeux have a much smaller desire to speak and learn English. It really hit me that we were in unfamiliar territory. Yet, American and British flags line the streets. Entrepreneurs named their restaurants “Overlord Café” and “Omaha beach restaurant.” The marriage of Americanized establishments with ethnically and culturally different people gave me a truly shocking experience.

Unfamiliar territory was the theme of most World War II French museums. The Caen museum was our first encounter with the French version of WWII. While the museum itself is Americanesque (history is truly written by the victors), it has a strong French flair. As an American, we rarely come across histories of our nation from a universal narrative. Yet, this is exactly how most WWII French museums are designed. Every gallery focused on what brought Hitler to power. They point to Nationalism and failure of international powers to answer, including France and Britain. From here, the Caen museum focused on the scope of WWII. They narrated the North African campaign, the Eastern front, and then emphasized Operation Overlord, the invasion of Nazi occupied France.

Operation Overlord earns an entire exhibit wing. This was both surprising and unsurprising. It was unsurprising because the French Resistance played a crucial role in intelligence and disruption of German movement. Operation Overlord also brought the eventual end to Nazi occupation of France. Yet, I was surprised because the invasion fits unevenly into the French memory of the war. Americans love to believe every Frenchmen viewed them as liberators and saviors. Yet many French, particularly Normans, paid a high price for liberation. Allied pre-D-Day bombing decimated cities. Many faced the duality of liberation without a home. The Overlord museum covers the contentious nature of the bombings, but lightly. Anyone unaware of the French narrative would not notice the passive-aggressive language.

However, the most moving sites were not museums, but cemeteries. The German cemetery really moved me. Most of the men buried in Normandy were either younger than 20 or over 30. In fact, out of 30 randomly chosen graves, I found an average age of 32. Hitler, afraid of the Soviet steamroller, reinforced his Atlantic army with the old, the young, and the maimed. Many German defenders were Poles, Ukrainians, Czechs, or Soviet prisoners of war. They supplemented hardy veterans who transferred to France for recuperation. Despite this diverse fighting force, the German cemetery was homogenous. Every grave had the same tombstone, and every grave listed the same information. Not one listed nationality. Not one listed religion.

Picture of the German cemetery. Notice the uniformity and low-signature of the tombstones.

As an American and Marine, the American cemetery touched a nerve. At any angle, the graves are perfectly covered and aligned. The plots are the neatly assembled formations for the deceased, who await their final dismissal for Valhalla, heaven for combat heroes. These men were the true heroes of WWII, paying the ultimate price for a group of humans most had never met. A teary eyed salute to the fallen ended an emotional day abroad.

The most moving site was Omaha beach. My imagination immediately kicked in, and I saw young men as they approached the unknown. At low tide, these men crossed a gauntlet of obstacles and open terrain some 500-700 yards long. They were cold, tired, sick, and afraid. Hidden German machine guns took pot shots at the slow-moving landing crafts The Germans used the landing craft’s large steel ramps as practice for the Americans behind them. As the ramps dropped, many Americans were cut down before spotting their assailant. Several boats were annihilated before hitting sand. Those who disembarked successfully faced a wall of German fire crisscrossing the beach. These men were drenched, weighing around 60-100 pounds more with soaked gear. 29^th Division’s Company A is a grim reminder of the sacrifices at Omaha. By the evening of June 6^th, only 18 of 230 Company A men remained unharmed.

The Tide here is coming in. Imagine the beachhead extending another 500 yards.

For the American narrative, the Bayeux area is filled with historical artifacts and grim reminders of the sadistic and gruesome nature of war. For many of us, Bayeux became the first personal taste of WWII. The French theme of universalism helps give a scope of the massive scale of WWII, and has opened up my eyes for the remained of this trip.