pointe du hoc – Dave and Kay's Travel Adventures

Sunday, October 8th, 2023

We were on the road early because we had a full day ahead of us.

Today we visited visited some of the Normandy beaches. We visited this area on a trip in 2019 and spent a lot of time at all of the D-Day beaches. This time it was just a day trip but it was worth visiting again. A second visit gave us new experiences and insights.

Our first stop was Pointe Du Hoc. Pointe Du Hoc had cliffs(100-120 feet high) that overlooked the English Channel and Omaha Beach.

During WWII this area was a stronghold of the Germans. On June 6, 1944 the US Army Rangers scaled the cliffs to capture this position. You could see remains of German bunkers and machine gun posts.

The French erected this monument on a cliff here to honor the American Second Ranger Battalion.

On the center of Omaha Beach there were two memorials. On the left was the Les Braves which consisted of three elements: 1. the Wings of Hope, 2. Rise, Freedom, and 3. The Wings of Fraternity. On the right was a stone monument to the Allies.

We also saw a memorial for the 29th Division at Omaha Beach of a soldier carrying a wounded comrade on D-day.

Memorial at Omaha Beach of Soldier helping a wounded soldier.

The National Guard Association memorial was important to some of our veterans who served with the National Guard more recently. The National Guard memorial was also located at Omaha beach on top of a German bunker! It commemorated the actions of the National Guard during WWII.

After Omaha Beach we visited the Normandy American Cemetery that overlooked Omaha Beach.

The cemetery was dedicated in 1956 and was located in Colleville-sur-Mer, France. It was built on the temporary American St. Laurent cemetery. It was established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944 and was the first American cemetery on European soil in WWII. The cemetery covered 172 1/2 acres and contained the graves of 9,837 military dead. Most of them lost their lives on the D-Day landings. The cemetery also had a wall of the missing with 1,557 names inscribed on it. A rosette marked by a name meant they were recovered and identified.

The statue by Donald De Lue was made from bronze and was called “Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves”.

Across from the statue one of our travelers in our group was a retired Major General and she presented the veterans in our group with a challenge coin. She also presented those that served prior to 1973 with a coin.

The Veterans traveling with us. We honored their service!

This time capsule was buried on June 6, 1969 and will be opened on the 100th anniversary of the allied landings along the coast of Normandy.

Our lunch was served at the L’Albatros Restaurant that was part of the Omaha Beach Golf Club. The La Mer course had each hole named after a liberating American veteran or famous battle. We enjoyed the lunch that was served.

After lunch we visited the new D-Day museum located in Arromanches’ seafront. It was built on the geographical center of the D-Day landing beaches. This museum focused on the D-Day Landings!

We were interested in the Mulberry Harbor and the museum explained it well. Right after D-Day the beach of Arromanches one of two Mulberry harbors was created. It was quite an engineering feat. The pieces to build the harbor were carried over from Britain. This allowed the heavy equipment to be unloaded. Below were models that showed how the harbor would work.

We saw remnants on land and some that were left out from the beach area.

On our way back to the riverboat we passed the Eisenhower roundabout in Bayeux, France. In the center of the roundabout is a memorial dedicated to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

When we returned back to the riverboat we had a little time to walk into the town of Caudebec-en-Caux.

In 1940, the Germans wanted to bomb the ferries crossing the river but missed and instead hit cars waiting to cross on the ferry. The cars caught on fire and the fire spread quickly and 80% of the town was destroyed because most of the buildings and homes were made of wood. The Church of Notre-Dame of Caudebec-en-Caux survived. It dated from the 15th and 16th century.

The church was listed as a historic monument since 1840. The Gothic style had many decorative carvings on the outside of the church. We were unable to visit inside because it was late in the day and all the doors were locked.

The sun was setting so we headed back to our riverboat.

Sunday, July 21st, 2019

We left our hotel at 9:00 and our first stop was the Normandy American Cemetery with our step-on guide Sean. The cemetery looks over Omaha Beach.

It covers 72 1/2 acres and contains the graves of more than 9,380. On the walls of the missing are the names of more than 1,500 and rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified. We toured the grounds and visited the Visitor’s Center.

At the Visitor Center at the Cemetery you’ll see another map of the beaches from D-Day and a reflecting/infinity pool overlooking Omaha Beach

After the cemetery we had lunch and then visited Omaha Beach and the memorials located there. The stainless steel sculpture “Les Braves” commemorates American soldiers.

Les Braves war memorial

Allied Forces Landing Monument

“Helping the Wounded” Memorial Wounded Soldier at Omaha Beach

National Guard Monument Memorial at Omaha Beach

There are remains of some of the German bunkers.

We also stopped at Pointe du Hoc.

It is a 100-foot cliff overlooking the English Channel on the NW coast of Normandy. During WWII it was the highest point between the American sector landings at Utah beach to the west and Omaha beach to the east. The memorial here was placed by the French to honor elements of the American Second Ranger Battalion under the command of Lt. Col. James E. Rudder. His unit scaled these cliffs and seized the German artillery pieces that could fire on American troops landing at Omaha and Utah beaches. The Battalion suffered a lot of casualties.

The terrain was still very uneven with the artillery craters still there. The French government has maintained as is!

German Bunker at Pointe du Hoc

Looking outside from inside one of the German bunkers

When we arrived back in Bayeux we had some free time before dinner.

We visited the Norman-Gothic Cathedral Notre-Dame (built in the 13th century).

The 1,000 year old (11th century) tapestry depicting the 1066 Norman invasion of England was incredible. It is almost 230 feet long, made of linen and it is listed as a “world heritage” site by UNESCO. We could not take pictures of it but it you get an opportunity check it out on the internet.

We had a wonderful dinner of beef burgundy at a local restaurant!

After dinner we walked to the Bayeux War Cemetery which is the largest WWII cemetery of Commonwealth soldiers in France. It contains 4,648 burials and most are from the invasion of Normandy.