 |
| Utah Beach |
When I asked Dad to research which places he wanted to go to
in Normandy, he replied, “Omaha and Utah.” Uhhh…that’s it? We drive 3 hours to
see two beaches?! So I asked Angel to do some research of where she wanted to
go and she rose to the challenge. She had a whole packet put together of
different D-Day sights and museums. But based on how long we spent at Pointe du
Hoc and Omaha Beach yesterday, we knew we wouldn’t be able to see everything.
Our original plans had to be scrapped and last night, we narrowed down where we
wanted to hit today. I think you’d need at least a full week here to do the
region justice, especially if you’re a WWII buff. We started at Utah Beach
today because we weren’t sure how long it would take, and boy, are we glad we
did. By the time we got out of the museum (we don’t wear watches so no clue of
time), it was already 3pm. We spent 4 hours in there!
 |
| Utah Beach Memorial |
This museum would not be possible if it wasn’t for the
determination of one Frenchman. During WWII, the Allies bombed his farm and he
sustained heavy injuries. The Americans tended to his injuries and helped
evacuate him to England, where he was able to make a full recovery. He
eventually returned to his hometown and was elected mayor. Instead of harboring
grudges against the Allies for his injuries, he spent his life reaching out to
WWII veterans, building friendships with them, and advocating and funding a
museum, which eventually became known as the Utah Beach museum.
 |
| The right wing of Utah Beach Museum |
Back in the early 2000s, the Lieutenant Governor of Texas and his brother visited the Utah Beach museum with their families. They knew their father had fought in WWII, but their father died in a car accident when the brothers were very young, so they never knew what he did during the war. They looked through the photographs on display in the museum, and lo and behold, there was their father! David Dewhurst, their father, served as a fighter pilot, making countless daring raids during the war. On D-Day, David Dewhurst led the final bombing run on Utah Beach. Flying at extremely low altitudes, they had only two minutes to drop the bombs behind enemy lines on Utah Beach—their timing had to be exactly precise. Any later than that, they’d be dropping the bombs on their own military—the Allies would be storming Utah Beach at that time.
 |
| Captured German bunker |
 |
| Utah Beach |
If you only have a day in Normandy, I’d highly recommend the Utah Beach museum. Because of the TLC of the community and countless others, the museum has gone through several renovations and expansions—it now stores over 3000 WWII artifacts that veterans have donated through the years. After the Lieutenant Governor of Texas and his brother saw their dad there on display, they led the effort to raise millions of dollars to refurbish the museum yet again. It opened, brand new, in 2011, with a new theatre and a room to display a B-26 aircraft, much like the plane their dad used to fly. The B-26 used to be called the “Widow Maker” because when it was first introduced, it was highly unreliable. Many pilots died in training, trying to fly the plane. By D-Day, however, it became a highly respected aircraft for the ability to navigate tricky turns quickly and effortlessly.
LST Landing Ship Tank was nicknamed “Large Slow Target” because it moved so slowly. There was a landing craft on display. These flat-bottomed ships were used to take the soldiers to shore.
There were a pair of boots on display. These were boots
given to higher ranks of German soldiers, as they were extremely warm, which
proved very useful in Russia. However, the felt used to line these boots came
from the hair of Jews in concentration camps:
The museum also had a fitting tribute for the fallen men of
Exercise Tiger. In preparation for D-Day, many ships took part of this exercise
on the English Channel close to England’s shores. The sudden outbreak of radio
activity led the Germans to become suspicious of what was happening there, so
they sent 3 torpedo ships to investigate. Alarmed, these ships discharged
torpedoes at the Allies. When the torpedoes went straight under the ships
(these were flat-bottomed ships that were transporting stuff), the Germans
realized the Allies weren’t armed (it was just a training exercise, after all),
so they commenced to direct heavy fire, as in cannons, at the Allies. Over 700
men died that day. But the Allies did not want this information getting out, as
it would let the Germans know the extent of the damage. And, being so close to
D-Day, the Allies didn’t want their soldiers’ morale to nosedive, so the press
was forbidden to report about Exercise Tiger.
 |
| Military advertisement to get men to join |
The Comanche Indians also had a mention here. Based on their
own language, the Code Talkers created a code for the Allies that was
unbreakable by the Germans. Hitler was coded as “Crazy White Man.”
 |
| B-26 plane |
Tom Hanks showed up in 2001 for their annual memorial ceremony. --Angel's contribution
A soldier had this prayer book on him while he was fighting in WWII. A bullet ricocheted off his rifle and lodged into this prayer book, which was located in his chest pocket.
The small book saved his life:
A soldier had this prayer book on him while he was fighting in WWII. A bullet ricocheted off his rifle and lodged into this prayer book, which was located in his chest pocket.
The small book saved his life:
We read many such stories of men, wearing items/talismans, and bullets hitting those items instead of their bodies, saving them from harm.
 |
| Tank |
After Utah Beach, we drove to St. Mere Eglise to see the
church where John Steele, a paratrooper, landed on the clock tower. He
pretended to be dead, but the Germans took him down and took him prisoner. His
actions are detailed in the movie The Longest Day.
 |
| St. Mere Eglise - can you see the paratrooper hanging from the rooftop? |
We drove to Leader Price in Bayeux, where Angel bought sables butter cookies. Sables are a specialty of the Normandy region, as the region is known for its butter. She really liked them, though it does taste a bit like shortbread cookies.
Then we went to E LeClerc (our favorite!) to buy puff-pastry
pizza for dinner. We got 3 different flavors this time. The first one is the
one we got on our first day here. We also got a goat cheese with bell peppers
and a ham with Reblochon cheese and potatoes.
Apparently real Reblochon is illegal in the US because it's aged less than 60 days and uses raw milk (vs pasteurized). From Wikipedia: "Reblochon derives from the word 'reblocher' which when literally translated means 'to pinch a cow's udder again'."
Apparently real Reblochon is illegal in the US because it's aged less than 60 days and uses raw milk (vs pasteurized). From Wikipedia: "Reblochon derives from the word 'reblocher' which when literally translated means 'to pinch a cow's udder again'."
 |
| Thin-crust pizza with chevre and bell peppers |
 |
| Thin-crust pizza with ham, potato and Roblechon cheese |
No comments:
Post a Comment