16th August- We saw a sign for Omaha beach when we were driving along the coast and decided to make a detour so we could have a look at what we thought was just a popular beach. Well, it was a popular beach but not for the reason most beaches are- it was a WW2 site with a museum and war memorial on the beach itself.
Omaha beach was where the American allies landed on D-day to help fight off the Germans. Sadly, many of those troops died upon the beach that day and the memorial pictured above was erected in memory of those brave men. The beach is very long so you can understand why it was chosen but the Germans were ready and had an advantage upon the many hills before it. It was a history lesson for all of us. Our little girl looked very sad as we explained things to her and pointed out the awful machinery that was used. However, she really loved the American flag and pointed it out whenever she saw one, to which there was many!
Further along our drive we stopped again when we discovered another place that looked interesting- this place was called Pointe du hoc and it happened to also be another WW2 site. This site was where U.S rangers scaled the steep cliffs in order to try and silence the artillery that was situated there. It was both saddening and amazing to walk though a piece of history that was so tragic and monumental. The cliffs were steep, crumbly and extremely rocky and you could recognise the danger of climbing them immediately so you can imagine how difficult a task it must have been.
The top of the cliffs was a grassy land that was filled with many craters where the bombs had landed- there was literally so many that I just stood there for a while as you couldn’t help but imagine how extremely terrifying it must have been back then and knowing how many men and boys had lost their lives. There were ruined bunkers scattered throughout the site which you could enter and walk around in which felt eerie and terrifying all at once. It was definitely the best historical site I have been too even though it was a tragic time but I mean what a brilliant way to learn about our history and to teach children and to actually see it for yourself- an actual evidentiary piece of history. Our little girl was definitely absorbing as much as she could. She may not have understood everything but she could definitely understand the horror of it and it had an emotional effect on her, not that she was crying or anything but she was deeply saddened by it. However, she enjoyed the lesson and asked lots of questions which made myself and my husband extremely proud as it showed us that she was paying an interest and actually cared about what she was seeing and being told.
It was a spontaneous stop and it had taken up all of our day but what a day we had had! We stopped in an aire that was just up the road- it was pretty awesome to be fair and cheap and just what we needed really after such a long day.
K.E.E.N Explorers 