A better way to pay homage to my country

Disclaimer: Allan is an awesome photographer. Most of the photos I used in this entry are his, which is made obvious by how good they are. I'm really happy that he was there to capture the day, and I'm really hoping I don't get in trouble for using the pictures. Is copyright as serious in France as it is in the US?


Best Week(end) Ever part 5 – D-Day Beaches



In high school and college I wasn’t too into history. Now I wish I had been. That’s because I have seen the D-Day beaches, and I am embarrassed at how much I don’t know. Would you think I was totally lame if you found out that before last Saturday I had no idea why there was a battle on those beaches? If you found out I didn’t even know which countries were fighting? Yeah, I think it’s pretty lame too.

You know that scene in Saving Private Ryan where old Tom Hanks is standing in front of the white cross, and then the camera pans out and you see that this cemetery is just full of crosses and goes on for what seems like forever? Believe me when I say even that scene does not do justice to the feeling of being there yourself.

On Saturday I woke up early, and found out what a typical French breakfast would be. I think C may have been shocked when she found out that during my month here, I had yet to have a proper French croissant. Well, she certainly fixed that. When Allan (I hope I spelled that right) returned from the bakery we all enjoyed our croissants and pain au chocolat (chocolate bread – did I mention it’s delicious?) and big bowls of hot chocolate.

After watching some of Billy Elliot, which seems to be fantastic - I must finish it, and some of Eastenders, a British soap, and having a shower in which the hot water lasted for more than the minute and a half that is typical of my studio, the family got together to take me to the beaches, and a tour of the beautiful Normandy countryside. Look how beautiful the clouds were on Saturday. I was complaining about how photos can’t capture the texture and beauty of clouds, but I think this one really did.

I love the look of country life. I love the way red vegetation is allowed to crawl over the side of a house, I love the structure of the farm houses, I love the red geraniums that are sometimes popular outside windows. It’s all just really beautiful.

Before I knew it we arrived to the first beach of the day. Forgive me for not knowing the name. It was a very small beach with not much left, but you could still see the bunkers in the ocean where the Americans arrived. Even though it was small it was still powerful.

We drove on to a lookout point. I think it may have been called Arromanche, but I’m not sure. From a small tower you could look out over the seas and the parking lot, into which a tour bus was pulling. C pointed out to me that there was a veteran in that bus. As we pulled out, we saw the veteran exit the bus. He was wearing his suit with his medals, and I can’t remember the last time I felt so much respect for a person. Even from inside a car, without meeting him or even seeing him up close, I had to hold back tears. I can’t imagine what it must be like for him to come back.

Our next stop was the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. That’s the one from Saving Private Ryan that I was talking about earlier. I noticed right away that all the signs were in English, and C and Allan explained to me that we were technically on American soil, since the USA bought the land. All of the employees there speak English, all the signs are in English first, and the grounds are kept just like any American military ceremony. In a strange way, it felt like returning home.

As we walked into the grounds, the National Anthem started to play. I never realized just how deeply that music is engrained in me. I knew it from the first chord. There was a ceremony happening around this statue for a tour group that had just arrived. Everyone was silent and collected around the statue. I joined them and just couldn’t help but cry.

I decided to walk over to a lookout over the beach first. I needed some time before the cemetery. And looking at the beach really hit me. The thing that affected me the most was how completely calm it was. Just a regular beach. Some people walking on it, the constant cycle of waves, but overall it was totally quiet. It’s hard to imagine how riotous it must have been on June 6th, 1944.

I felt like I was ready as I would ever be to head to the cemetery. And I’m telling you, there is no way to explain the gravity of all those crosses. I could tell you that there are 9300+ graves, but I’m not sure that that is a comprehensible number. I could muse about the impact of war and how behind every grave there is a whole grieving family, but I’m not sure that’s the right way to describe the feeling either. Maybe the experience is one that can’t be expressed at all.
So maybe I’ll just let you look at the pictures:









Like I said, I’m not a big history buff. I only studied WWII enough to pass the test on it in 11th grade. I don’t watch war movies. I don’t read war litt. Call it a defense mechanism. And I have been lucky enough not to lose anyone to war. Ever. And with all that considered, this experience was still the most overwhelming, heart wrenching one I have ever had. I can’t imagine how it must feel for people who have more invested to visit this cemetery. I just can not imagine.

Once I felt like I couldn’t take the cemetery any more, we went down to Omaha beach. Like I said, it was calm. I’m so so so happy that petite Alice was with us on this day. At 3, she doesn’t comprehend war or death; all she wants to do is run on the beach and play with her shadow. Running and playing with her really helped to relieve the tension I was feeling. Thank you, petite Alice!


After the beaches, we all went to Bayeux. It was too late to see the famous tapestry (tear) but I did see the cathedral. Cathedrals really astound me. The thought that someone – well actually, a lot of someones – would care about and have enough love for one deity to construct something like this leaves me speechless. This picture is just the base of the cathedral. There was no way to get a good picture of the whole thing. That you can find here.

We walked around Bauyeux for a while. C used to teach here so she’s an expert on the city. There were many beautiful buildings, of course. I’m jealous of the history that France has. Buildings this old just don’t exist in the USA.

For dinner we went to an Indian restaurant, which was awesome for two reasons: 1. I wanted to compare French Indian food to American Indian food. It’s the same but less spicy. 2. It reminded me of Tapan, who I miss every single day. And I felt so in-the-know. I didn’t order meat, I used only my right hand to pull the nan apart and pick up the Korma Taj Mahal (veggie dish). It was really nice. Conversation was, as usual, awesome, and petite Alice was just lovely.

Once we returned home, everyone was ready to crash. It had been a long day for everyone, but, excuse the cliché, an incredible learning experience.