Seventy years ago today, June 6, 1944, thousands of American, British and Canadian troops stormed ashore on the beaches of Normandy. Today we remember their bravery, courage, and sacrifice.
Several years ago the other DrC and I visited Normandy and stood looking at Omaha Beach. We saw a low spot in the seaside cliffs made a natural route inland, and of course the Germans saw this too and had fortified it heavily with bunkers, cannon, and pill boxes.
The so-called "mulberry harbors" the Allies built are still in evidence, as well as enormous bomb craters. An amphibious landing was a daunting thing. Visiting Normandy will repay your time and effort to get there.
While in the neighborhood, see the famous Bayeux tapestry at the town of that name. "Tapestry" is a misnomer, it is actually an embroidered cloth 70 yards long in the form of a story board showing the sequence of events which led to the Norman conquest of England in 1066 c.e.
