Submitted by Anna Cauchy on the 2020 winter session program in Paris, France and Geneva, Switzerland sponsored by the School of Nursing…
This week, we visited Normandy Beach and the American Military Memorial and Cemetery. Of course, we all know a fair bit about WWII from history classes, books, movies, and even our grandparents who may have somehow been involved in the war. However, being on the beaches where the D-day invasion actually took place and walking among the graves of the men and women who fought for the world we know today was a completely different and very moving experience. The French actually call the D-day invasion “the liberation,” because the Allied troops were liberating France from Nazi occupation. In Normandy, many houses even fly American flags because they are so grateful for how much American troops sacrificed for their freedom.
Upon arriving in Normandy, we stopped first at Omaha Beach, where we saw firsthand how difficult it would have been to land troops. We noticed immediately how fast the tides went in and out, and how much beach disappeared when the tide was in. Walking on the beach, we could see old Nazi bunkers in the cliffs from which they shot at the landing Allied armies. The cliffs surrounding the beach were huge, as was the beach itself, and we didn’t even see all of it. It was nearly impossible to imagine how the Allied Forces could have been successful in their mission after seeing the kind of advantage the Nazis had. After visiting the beach, and taking a closer look at the bunkers, we went to the American Military Memorial and Cemetery at Normandy, which was a very overwhelming experience. In the museum, one display was a reading of the names of the men who had given their lives in Normandy. However, because this list was so long we probably didn’t even hear half of the names.
