D-DAY BEACHES & THE AMERICAN CEMETERY // FRANCE



going to the d-day beaches & american cemetery in normandy was a really cool, grounding experience. i remember briefly learning about d-day in one of my high school history classes, it sort of got mushed together with all of the WWII history we were learning, but since learning about it & hearing about the normandy beaches, i have been eager to go. while on our trip austin & i kept asking my mom hundreds of questions about d-day & when we were able to, we would look up different facts about it. we figured it was a good time to brush up on some history since we were at the actual place. so, here's a quick history lesson for you, incase you're like me & need a little refresher!

d-day happened june 6, 1944 & is the largest invasion by sea in history. d-day marks the day the american, british & canadian allies invaded normandy to liberate france & the rest of europe from the nazi occupation in WWII. the allies landed on 5 beaches along the coast in the region of normandy. d-day is also the beginning of the battle of normandy, which ended august 1944.

so there's you're little history lesson. it's crazy going to such a historical area, actually being where the battle happened, where history was made. it kind of puts everything into perspective for me, being able to see where the troops were landing & being able to better invasion what it may have been like for them. not to mention that a lot of the troops were basically just kids, 18 year olds in charge of freeing an entire country. it's crazy to me & truly heroic. the day we went around to the beaches & cemetery were insanely windy. cedar got blown over a couple of times, which was sort of funny, luckily he thought it was funny too & he didn't really mind the wind which was just nice, haha. it was slightly misty but with the crazy wind by the time we left the cemetery we were all drenched. needless to say, we didn't wander around a whole lot while we were there. but we tried to make it worth our stop, despite the weather! the cemetery overlooks omaha beach & the english channel & was really, really pretty.

we didn't go to all of the beaches, but we made it to omaha beach & utah beach. they were really, really pretty. totally different than the beaches i am use to, they have a total east coast or pnw feel to them, which i really like. flat, long with a lot of grassy goodness to them. while at the utah beach we went to a museum that was partially built from a bunker that was actually in use on d-day.

4 comments

  1. you're totally right - this feels very pnw-ey to me. so beautiful! i cannot wait to visit it someday - i have a great uncle that stormed those beaches and even has a bullet-splattered helmet from the day that he has showed us.

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    1. that is so amazing your uncle stormed the beaches! it would be so crazy to see his helmet, imagining what he had gone through & where he is now! you've got a cool great uncle :)

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  2. Hi Kerry! My name is Cris and I live in Vigo, Galicia, in the northwest of Spain. I have to say that I love your blog, I never miss a post. I know you love to travel, so I recommend you to come visit Vigo!! If you like interesting places, beautiful beaches & islands, and great food, you should definitely come! I'll be glad to show you around!

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    1. thank you so much for your sweet comment :) your part of spain sounds great! hopefully we will be able to visit someday :)

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