At left is 4th Infantry Division veteran Irving Smolens and his daughter Karen on Utah Beach in 2004. Over the years our families have become close and have visited back and forth several times.
• Gold, Juno, and Sword Beaches: These beaches are in the Canadian and British sectors of the invasion. The area around Pegasus Bridge is said to be worth a visit. Small British military cemeteries are scattered along the back roads in the area and contrast with the huge American cemeteries. They also differ in their personalized inscriptions, e.g. “Rest your head awhile, my darling, and I’ll meet you in another place”. Some cemeteries include a few German graves marked with simple black stones.
• Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer: This cemetery pictured in “Saving Private Ryan” is situated on a cliff overlooking the Fox segment of Omaha Beach. Check the website for open hours. A footpath descending to the beach is worthwhile; this bluff was the site of an intense battle, and the a command post was reputedly situated between the reflecting pool and main memorial.
• The Back Roads: Scattered along the winding country roads behind Omaha Beach are numerous villages with histories of their own. There are also many small museums which chronicle the human experiences of each place. Watch for bullet marks from gunfire, still visible on the stone walls near corners and intersections. Hedgerows 10-15 feet high can still be seen on the farm roads; these unforeseen obstacles nearly foiled the success of the invasion. The hedgerows are disappearing as farms are consolidated into larger more-easily-plowed fields.
• St-Laurent-sur-Mer, Vierville, and Omaha Beach: Each entry from the sea to the bluffs has a monument, with a small beach road connecting the sites (which wasn’t there in 1944). There is also a marked path on top of the bluffs extending the entire length of the beaches; KMC tourists highly recommended the trip but say it makes for a strenuous day. Note the two museums on Omaha Beach, both located in salvaged WWII buildings. Each one has its own character and is worth a visit. A drive along the beach road is recommended to see where the “shingle” used to be, a low wall and stretch of egg-sized stones that provided cover but also trapped troops on the beach. The swampy area which posed so much difficulty to the troops is still visible, though dry now and free of concertina wire and mines. German gun emplacements are clearly visible on the bluffs.
• Pointe du Hoc: This area 7 km east of Omaha Beach is a must see on any Normandy trip. According to veterans, the area today is much like they found it 6 June 44, with huge shell craters, intact German bunkers, and an extensive system of trenches and gun emplacements. Unfortunately, deterioration of the cliff area prevents visitors from seeing the vertical wall scaled by the Rangers. A visitors center is due to open soon at Pointe de Hoc.
Guided Tours: Many companies offer DDay tours lasting from a half to two days. If you have the time and money, this is the best way to see it all in a short time. The following have been recommended by friends as well-worth the Euros:
Battlebus Tours: www.battlebus.fr - unanimous great reviews from this one! Try to get Dale as your guide
Victory Tours: http://www.lignerolles.homestead.com/victorytours.html
Overlord Tours: http://www.overlordtour.com
Historic Tours: www.ww2tours.com - recommended by our friend Helen Patton Pluscyk, General Patton's granddaughter
Tours International: www.tours-international.co.uk/military+tours - led by the very best of them all: historian Will Cavanagh
