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    On D-Day - Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    June 6, 2021
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    Guest post by Paul Gardiner

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    Visit to Omaha Beach


    It was a bright, sunny afternoon when we arrived at Omaha Beach. Upon exiting the bus and
    walking out to the beach itself, I thought to myself what a drastic contrast today’s peaceful
    Omaha Beach is compared to the Omaha Beach of June 6, 1944. Walking on the same sand on
    which so many American soldiers (about 2,500) died made me feel very humbled, grateful, and
    full of awe. The below photo shows the cliffs that oversee the beach, and scattered throughout
    the cliffs were the German machine gun positions and other gun locations that ripped through the
    oncoming landing boats and soldiers as they made their way toward the cliffs. For me, the scene
    was somewhat of an emotional roller coaster—I have such great respect and admiration for all
    the men who gave their lives or were wounded on that day on this stretch of French beach.

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    Photo of Omaha Beach on June 7, 1944:

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    Maps, etc., about the invasion day:

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    Omaha Beach monuments:

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France
    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France
    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France
    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France
    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France
    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France
    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    Visit to Pointe du Hoc


    The German 155 mm artillery positions on Pointe du Hoc had to be disabled because the guns
    could greatly damage American forces landing on both Omaha and Utah beaches. 225 American
    Army Rangers were given the mission to scale the 90-foot high cliffs and disable the German
    guns. After heavy shelling by the US Navy, the Rangers landed at approximately 0700 and
    started their ascent of the cliffs amid stiff German gun fire. 30 Rangers were killed scaling the
    cliffs with another 105 Rangers killed on the top of the cliffs until reinforced by other Rangers
    and elements of the 29th Infantry Division from Omaha Beach. After fighting for two days, only
    90 of the original 225 Ranger attack force remained alive.

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France
    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    President Reagan addressing Pointe du Hoc surviving Rangers in 1984:

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France
    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    President Reagan’s tribute to the Pointe du Hoc Rangers:

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    Close up photos of the Pointe du Hoc 90-foot high cliffs:

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France
    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    Visit to the American Cemetery, Omaha Beach


    There are over 9,300 headstones in the American Cemetery of which 1,557 are for soldiers
    missing in action. 45 sets of brothers are buried here. The cemetery is a beautiful, peaceful
    place containing the graves of soldiers who died not only on Omaha Beach but also in the
    surrounding areas. Below is a photo of the cemetery today and under it, a photo of soldiers in
    June 1944 honoring their fellow soldiers buried in the temporary Omaha cemetery:

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France
    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    Photos taken while walking thru the cemetery overlooking the English Channel:

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France
    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    Photo of an ―unknown‖ headstone:

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    Visit to Sainte Mere Eglise


    The town of Sainte Mere Eglise played a significant part in the World War II Normandy
    landings because this village stood right in the middle of route N13, which the Germans would
    have most likely used on any significant counterattack on the troops landing on Utah and Omaha
    Beaches. In the early morning of 6 June 1944 mixed units of the U.S. 82nd Airborne and U.S.
    101st Airborne Divisions occupied the town in Operation Boston, giving it the claim to be one of
    the first towns liberated in the invasion.


    The early landings, at about 0140 directly on the town, resulted in heavy casualties for the
    paratroopers. Some buildings in town were on fire that night, and they illuminated the sky,
    making easy targets of the descending men. Some were sucked into the fire. Many hanging from
    trees and utility poles were shot before they could cut loose.
    A well-known incident involved paratrooper John Steele of the 505th Parachute Infantry


    Regiment (PIR), whose parachute caught on the spire of the town church, and could only observe
    the fighting going on below. He hung there limply for two hours, pretending to be dead, before
    the Germans took him prisoner. Steele later escaped from the Germans and rejoined his division
    when US troops of the 3rd Battalion, 505 Parachute Infantry Regiment attacked the village,
    capturing thirty Germans and killing another eleven. The incident was portrayed in the movie
    The Longest Day by actor Red Buttons. The lightly armed troops held the town until reinforced
    by tanks from nearby Utah Beach in the afternoon of 7 June.

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    Drop zones for the 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions:

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France
    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    101st Airborne troops enroute to Ste-Mere-Eglise:

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    Replica of Paratrooper John M. Steele hanging from the town church steeple:

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    Close up of Paratrooper John Steel (replica) hanging on church steeple. He was eventually cut
    down after being shot in the foot by a German soldier:

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    Paratrooper John Steele’s awards before and after being cut down from the church steeple:

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    Status of airborne and beach operations as of June 18, 1944:

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    A closing thought


    The words inscribed on the main monument in the American Cemetery pay a most honorable
    tribute to all the American soldiers and sailors who lost their lives on June 6, 1944, and during
    the weeks thereafter in northern France:


    “THIS EMBATTLED SHORE, PORTAL OF FREEDOM,
    IS FOREVER HALLOWED BY THE IDEALS, THE VALOR,
    AND THE SACRIFICES OF OUR FELLOW COUNTRYMEN”


    Amen, and thanks be to God for such brave Americans. May every generation of Americans
    raise up such men and women to protect the freedoms and liberty we too often take for granted.


    Photo of the main monument at the Omaha American Cemetery:

    Reflections On Visiting Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise And The American Cemetery In Normandy, France

    Paul S. Gardiner is a retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel, Vietnam veteran, and American Legion member. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Alabama, and the US Army War College.   

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    Rhonda Gardner

    The most humbling place I have ever been to. The feeling of reverence is something that can only be experienced, it can't be described. My daughter, a Veteran of Afghanistan, participated in the flag ceremony with (then) VFW Commander-in-Chief, John Hamilton. Thank you for sharing the pictures, it still makes me tear up.

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