Normandy's D-Day Beaches

being spoken at Omaha Beach.

English in both English and North American accents, Italian, French (of course), and German.

Very moving. Different than I imagined.

But to be honest, I found it completely impossible to picture what happened here, even at Arromanches where you can still see the remains of the Mulberry harbour.

Gets you thinking. Walking through shell holes and looking at bullet holes in bridges and buildings. The Mulbery harbours are still there, and don’t even start me on the cemetaries…

Grandfather was a cook with the American army and came here in WW II, and my far, far, far back roots are from Normandy. (The D’Angulo family, from the Norman invasion of Ireland.)

Its very sobering to stand on the beaches and know what transpired. Its also a little difficult at times. There are reminders in the way of craters and busted bunkers all around that make what happened there much more real thant it had ever been to me before.

My grandfather was a U.S. soldier in D-Day. He survived the event, and was actually wounded later in France. My grandfather has passed on since then, and nowI’m organizing a trip with my family, because I think it is important that we all go to these beaches and see where our relative took part in an important event in world history. I never really knew my grandfather, and I feel by going there, I will get to understand more of what he lived through.

Was in total awe and reverence when I visited here.

Very surreal…

The beaches are beautiful, difficult to imagine the terror and blood spilt on its white sand. The crosses in the cemeteries, the bunkers, the munitions still left over form the war merit meditation on our part to the horror and futility of war.