Normandy, Day Five. Bayeux, The Tapestry, Ancient and Modern History

Section of the Bayeux Tapestry

This was the day that we didn't drive anywhere.  Bayeux is an amazing town full of its own wonders, museums, sights, great shops, and restaurants.  We started with a tour of the famous Tapestry that depicts the events of the year 1066:  The lead up to and the Battle of Hastings which resulted in the Norman Conquest of England.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with this, it is a fascinating chapter and a pivotal point in history which had a profound and lasting impact upon England.  I won't bore you with details, but if you would like to learn more, here is a great link: 

https://www.britannica.com/event/Norman-Conquest  Also, here is a link to information about the Tapestry, which is a fascinating piece of antiquity; an embroidered cloth nearly 70 meters long and 50 centimeters tall:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayeux_Tapestry  After touring the tapestry with a headset and narration, we walked to the Memorial Museum of the Battle Of Normandy.  It is a comprehensive display of vehicles, weapons, tactics and regalia used by both the Germans and the Allies.  It is one of many museums in Normandy but by far one of the best.  We then took a short walk to the European Cemetery, another somber and beautiful place honoring the dead on the European allied side (Canadians were buried there also). In total, the cemetery contains 4,648 burials. 

Bayeux was one of our favorite places and we are so happy that we stayed there the longest and made it our "base of operations," for our tour of Normandy. 

Museum of the Battle of Normandy, Bayeux, France

Allied Uniform Display

Weapons display

A German Artillery Piece

German Uniform display

Allied Self-propelled artillery

Typical Mounted Norman Cavalryman
Museum of the Tapestry

The Normans were Descendents of Vikings or "Northman" who settled
on the coast, hence the name "Normandy."  The ships used in the
invasion of England were very much like the Viking longboats.

German self-propelled anti-tank weapon

A Norman foot soldier

The Battle of Normandy Museum, Bayeux, France

 The Bayeux Memorial was erected in white stone facing the cemetery. The Latin epitaph along the frieze of the memorial is reference to William the Conqueror and the Invasion of England in 1066. The translation reads: “We, once conquered by William, have now set free the Conqueror’s native land.”

Poppy flower wreaths

Royal Canadian Air Force Pilot's grave

Crew members who died in Aircraft shot down were buried side by side

A Polish soldier's grave

Normandy, Day Four, Walking in the Shadows of Sacrifice

Omaha Beach, The American Cemetery, Pointe Du Hoc

After settling into our accommodations in Bayeux, we toured the town center, easily walking everywhere and discovering our some locally brewed beers at a great Wine shop run by Michel Peron (more on that later).  The Next morning we set off for Omaha Beach encountering the Overlord Museum along the way.  Another great museum displaying equipment, relics  and more from the Battle of Normandy.

Overlord Museum near Omaha beach
Tanks used in the Battle, depiction of
a Higgins Boat, (landing craft)
evacuating wounded from Omaha Beach.

 

From the museum, we drove to Colleville-sur-Mer to experience the American Cemetery.  It is an extraordinary place.  Most of you are familiar with it, having seen it in films and documentaries, but to be there in person is a truly spiritual experience.  Over one million people visit the cemetery each year.  It is 172.5 acres of meticulously maintained grounds honoring the remains of 9,387 American dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day invasion and ensuing operations to take Normandy.  The majority of the visitors there that day were Europeans, many  French with a handful of Americans.  All of them reverent and respectful.  The French, despite what you may have heard, are still very appreciative of the sacrifice the Americans made to free them from tyranny.

The American Cemetery At Colleville-Sur-Mer
Just above Omaha Beach

   
It was a beautiful and moving experience for Joseph and me.  It is unfortunate that everyone cannot come here and sense what we felt.  

Omaha Beach Memorial & sculpture

Pointe-Du-Hoc

From there we headed east along the coast to the Omaha Beach Memorial.  As we drove towards the shore, we saw an old concrete bunker and stopped.   After that we drove along the length of Omaha Beach, stopping at the memorial.  To see the challenges the invaders faced just in the topography alone-vast stretches of exposed beach at low tide- then add in the defenders and the weapons, is simply awe-inspiring.  From there we headed to Pointe-Du-Hoc, site of the famous Ranger assault.   Pointe du Hoc is a promontory with a 100 ft cliff overlooking the English Channel.  It was the highest point between Utah Beach to the west and Omaha Beach to the east.  It is still pock-marked with bomb craters due to the 

Les Braves sculpture. Read more about this interesting
 sculpture at the link below

http://www.rotblattamrany.com/les-braves-memorial-of-omaha-beach  

extensive bombing that occurred before the invasion.  Again, so awe inspiring to peer down and see what the Rangers faced in their climb and assault.  You can read more about it at the link provided below.  It had been a cloudy day until we got to Omaha Beach and Pointe Du Hoc.  The sun shined brilliantly on that crisp fall day.  It was calm, beautiful and peaceful on the cliffs. The concrete bunkers, eerily echoing the voices of the tourists walking inside of them.  A scenic overlook, and another reminder of the sacrifices made over 72 years ago. 

Read more about Pointe Du Hoc and the Ranger assault:

https://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/europe/pointe-du-hoc-ranger-monument#.WEeAHPnx7IU

Omaha Beach Memorial

Normandy Battle Fields- Day Three (continuation)

  After our stay in idyllic Honfleur, we headed west, driving through Deauville, hugging the coast until reaching the Orne River.  This was the western boundary of the Normandy invasion.  Following the Orne south, we came upon the Pegasus Bridge, the site of the British Airborne Glider assault that secured the eastern flank and helped to ensure that Sword Beach was not reinforced while the British, Canadians, Free French forces and others landed.  There is a great museum here and the actual bridge has been preserved as part of the exhibit (there is a new bridge over the Orne).  The bridge was renamed "Pegasus" after the British Sixth Airborne Division's patch, which depicts the winged horse of legend.  You can follow our trip by referencing the map below.  

 A glider that was used in the assault

  A model of the bridge depicting

We immediately stopped to tour the museum.  We were very excited.  Now our tour of the Normandy battle sites had officially begun!  We spent about two hours here, then proceeded to parallel Sword Beach heading towards Bayeux.  Bayeux is a town on the Aure river in Normandy, 10 kilometers from the Channel coast. Its medieval center contains cobbled streets, half-timbered houses and the towering, Norman-Gothic Cathédrale Notre-Dame. The famed Tapisserie de Bayeux, on display in an 18th-century seminary, is a 68 meter long, 11th-century tapestry depicting the 1066 Norman invasion of England.   We would go see that later.  We found an awesome place right in the middle of town, complete with a parking spot (very important) again, using Air B&B.  We could see the Cathedral from our window.  This would be our "Base of operations" for the next three days.

The Cathedral in Bayeux

Bayeux was untouched by the fighting during the battle of Normandy as it was not a strategic town. The towns most damaged and nearly completely destroyed were Caen on the eastern and Saint-Lo on the western edge of the Normandy Battlefront.            

View from our B&B

 

Normandy coast depicting invasion beaches and strategic towns.  We started our driving tour in Honfleur, proceeded west to Utah Beach, Ste-Mere-Eglise with a side trip to Le Mont Ste Michel.

              

Scene from Bayeux, and the actual Pegasus Bridge that once crossed the Orne River

Normandy, France via Paris and Honfleur Days One through three

     As a history buff, particularly of military history, I have always had a fascination with the events surrounding Operation Neptune, the Normandy landings which were the beginning of Operation Overlord, the invasion of, and battle for Normandy. Going there has always been on my bucket list.  This October, I finally had the opportunity to go and see some of the historical sites myself.  I had the further honor of going with my son, Joseph, who is an active duty Naval officer and Naval Aviator.  He came to Atlanta from Washington, D.C. where he is 
currently stationed.  I met him at the airport on Saturday, Oct 22 where we were able to get on the 3:30 pm departure to Paris (CDG).  After arriving early Sunday morning in CDG, we took the train into Paris and walked to our accommodations.  We spent Sunday and Monday in Paris, taking in the sites, going to the top of the Eiffel Tower and thoroughly enjoying the Musée de l'Armée, the military museum of France with its collections of weapons and uniforms tracing French military conflicts, plus Napoleon's gilded tomb.  This is an amazing museum.  I have never seen so many suits of armor in all sizes, shapes, and designs.  It is truly worth a visit.

Suits of Armor on display at the  Musée de l'Armée

On Tuesday we rented a car and set off for Normandy. It's an easy two-hour drive on limited access highways with tolls.  Our first stop was Honfleur,  a small town in northern France's Lower Normandy region, sited on the estuary where the Seine river meets the English Channel. Its Vieux-Bassin (old harbor), lined with 16th- to 18th-century townhouses, has been a subject for artists including Claude Monet and native son Eugène Boudin. Nearby Saint Catherine's Church is a vaulted wooden structure erected by shipbuilders beginning in the mid-1400s. We were able to find a place with a balcony overlooking the old harbor using Air B&B.  This is the eastern part of the Normandy battlefront and Honfluer was untouched by the conflict.  It is almost like being in a Monet painting, the town is so picturesque.  We spent the night there enjoying the sights, and a delicious meal ( I had sole Meuniere) before setting out the next day.  We drove along the coast and avoided the highway, enjoying the beautiful Normandy countryside aglow in all of its Autumn glory.                                                                       

Enjoying Cidre 

Le Vieux-Bassin in Honfleur

Our balcony view

Ever Wonder How Airports Got Their Names and Three Letter ID's? ORD, O'hare International Airport....Two Stories

O'Hare was constructed in 1942–43 as part of a manufacturing plant for Douglas C-54s during World War II. The site was chosen for its proximity to the city and transportation. The two million square foot (180,000 m²) factory needed easy access to the workforce of the nation's then-second-largest city, as well as its extensive railroad infrastructure. Orchard Place was a small nearby farming community.

Douglas Company's contract ended in 1945 and though plans were proposed to build commercial aircraft, the company ultimately chose to concentrate production on the west coast. With the departure of Douglas; the airfield took the name of Orchard Field Airport, the source of its three-letter code ORD.  In 1945, Orchard Field was chosen by the city of Chicago as the site for a facility to meet future aviation demands. In 1949, the airport was renamed "O'Hare International Airport" to honor Edward O'Hare, the U.S. Navy's first flying ace and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II. Its code, "ORD", remained unchanged, however, resulting in O'Hare being one of the rare instances of an airport's three-letter designation bearing no connection to the airport's current name or metropolitan area (with other rare instances including Orlando International Airport's IATA code "MCO" (the former McChord Air Force Base) or Toronto Pearson International Airport's IATA code of "YYZ").

The following is reprinted from soundfaith.com 

STORY NUMBER ONE

Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn’t famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder. Capone had a lawyer nicknamed “Easy Eddie.” He was his lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie’s skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time. To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block. Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him. Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had the best of everything: clothes, cars and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object.  And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong.
Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was. Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn’t give his son; that he couldn’t pass on a good name and a good example. One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done. He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al “Scarface” Capone, clean up his tarnished name and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testified. Within the year, Easy Eddie’s life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street. But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he would ever pay.

STORY NUMBER TWO

World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O’Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific. Butch O’Hare demonstrated in real life, and when it counted most, the fighting skills he had mastered. The carrier Lexington had been assigned the dangerous task of penetrating enemy-held waters north of New Ireland. From there her planes were to make a strike at Japanese shipping in the harbor at Rabaul. Nine Japanese bombers were reported on the way to the Lexington. Six Wildcats, one of them piloted by Butch O’Hare, roared off the Lexington’s deck to stop them. O’Hare and his wingman spotted the V formation of bombers first and dived to try to head them off. The other F4F pilots were too far away to reach most of the enemy planes before they released their bombs. As if this weren’t bad enough, O’Hare’s wingman discovered his guns were jammed. He was forced to turn away. Butch O’Hare stood alone between the Lexington and the bombers. O’Hare didn’t hesitate. Full throttle, he roared into the enemy formation. While tracers from the concentrated fire of the nine bombers streaked around him, he took careful aim at the starboard engine of the last plane in the V and squeezed his trigger. Slugs from the Wildcats six .50-caliber guns ripped into the Japanese bomber’s wing and the engine literally jumped out of its mountings. The bomber spun crazily toward the sea as O’Hare’s guns tore up another enemy plane. Then he ducked to the other side of the formation and smashed the port engine of the last Japanese plane there. One by one he attacked the oncoming bombers until five had been downed. Commander Thach later reported that at one point he saw three of the bombers falling in flames at the same time. By now Thach and the other pilots had joined the fight. This was lucky because O’Hare was out of ammunition. The Wildcats took care of several more bombers and Lexington managed to evade the few bombs that were released. It was an amazing example of daring and shooting skill. Afterward Thach figured out that Butch O’Hare had used only sixty rounds of ammunition for each plane he destroyed. He had probably saved his ship.
This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy’s first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal of Honor. A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O’Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man. So the next time you find yourself at O’Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch’s memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It’s located between Terminals 1 and 2.

SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?

Butch O’Hare was Easy Eddie’s son.