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Friday, June 21, 2019 - Benouville Bridge was a major objective of the British airborne troops in the opening minutes of the Allied invasion of Normandy. A unit of glider infantry of the British 6th Airborne Division, commanded by Major John Howard, was to land, take the bridges intact and hold them until relieved. The successful taking of the bridges played an important role in limiting the effectiveness of a German counter-attack.

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In 1944, it was renamed Pegasus Bridge in honor of the operation. The name is derived from the shoulder emblem worn by the British airborne forces, which is the flying horse Pegasus.
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Quickly after D-Day it was on the beach of Arromanches where the Allies established an artificial temporary harbor to allow the unloading of heavy equipment without waiting for the conquest of deep water ports.
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The British built huge floating concrete caissons which were towed from England, then assembled to form walls and piers creating the artificial port called the Mulberry harbor. These comprised pontoons linked to the land by floating roadways.

Today sections of the Mulberry harbor still remain with huge concrete blocks sitting on the sand and more can be seen further out at sea.
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Arromanches was spared the brunt of the fighting on D-Day so the installation and operation of the port could proceed as quickly as possible without damaging the beach and destroying surrounding lines of communication. The port was commissioned on 14 June 1944.
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Virginia Ann and Cal on Arromanches beach.
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Remembrances outside the D-Day Museum.
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The flags of the Allied forces.
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It was a somber note to walk through the Normandy American Cemetary in Colleville-sur-Mer where more than 9,000 graves of Americans who died in the invasion and later battles are buried.

The Normandy American Cemetery on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944 as the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II.

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The memorial consists of a semicircular colonnade with a loggia at each end containing large maps and narratives of the military operations.

This is the section showing Omaha Beach and the maneuvers after the landings.
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On the Walls of the Missing, in a semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial, are inscribed 1,557 names of those missing during the Normandy battle. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified.
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World War II United States Army Brigadier General, Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. The eldest son of 26th United States President Theodore Roosevelt, Teddy graduated from Harvard University, and became a businessman and investor. He served in the United States Army during World War I and World War II.

In World War II he rose to the rank of Brigadier General and served as assistant commander of the United States Army's 4th Infantry Division during the June 6, 1944 D-Day landings. He was the only general officer to land with the invasion forces that day, and led his men through France through the next month before he died, not in combat, of a heart attack.

He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery on D-Day.
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This headstone memorializes Edward Morozewicz, a private in the 16th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division who died on 6 June 1944.

The name on the cross stands out because it was rubbed with sand from Ohama Beach. I served in the 16th Infantry Regiment while stationed with the 1st Infantry Division at Ft Riley KS - the 5/16 - or Devil Rangers.
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The cemetery is located on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach. It covers 172.5 acres and contains the remains of 9,388 American military dead, most of whom were killed during the invasion of Normandy and ensuing military operations in World War II. Included are graves of Army Air Corps crews shot down over France as early as 1942 and four American women who served in France.
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From the top of the beach looking out at Omaha beach at the Easy Red sector. To the right is a draw which was the route off the beach - a break in the dune and vegetation wall.
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The Big Red One - 1st Infantry Division memorial just outside the Normandy American Cemetery on the bluff over Omaha Beach.
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The Signal Monument on Omaha Beach commemorating the landing. There are two inscriptions carved on the sides of the monument, one dedicated to the 1st Infantry Division, and the other to the 116th Infantry Regimental Combat Team of the 29th Infantry Division.
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As we walk along the beaches and view the original filmstrips and photos of the war efforts housed in the many museums, you think about how frightened these young men were when the battle began in those early morning hours. It is no less than a miracle that this invasion happened as planned considering the massive effort to orchestrate and time the sequence of invasions by the thousands of servicemen in the Army, Navy and Air Force. In addition to the invasion itself, there were thousands of tanks, jeeps, food and medical supplies that had to be coordinated and dispensed to support the servicemen. It all seemed to happen so fast but for those going into battle, I am sure it seemed an eternity. The window fronts on the shops in these villages were painted with messages and scenes thanking the Americans for liberating their communities and many of the homes flew both French and American flags.
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The sands of Omaha Beach
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Les Braves sculpture on Omaha Beach - There are three works together

The wings of Hope
Rise, Freedom!
The Wings of Fraternity
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Pointe du Hoc is about 4 miles from Omaha Beach. It was a strategic objective for the Allies as it sits between Utah and Omaha beaches on high ground. The battery was initially built in 1943 to house six captured French World War I vintage 155mm guns positioned in open concrete gun pits.

The gun pits and entire area have been left as they were just after the war.
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When we walked the site along Pointe du Hoc, it was sobering to know that the U.S. Rangers scaled these 100-foot cliffs to destroy the German artillery. This destination was especially meaningful for us, as Cal was a Ranger.

The Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument was erected in 1960 by the French to honor the American Second Ranger Battalion under the command of Lt. Col. Rudder.

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Cal standing next to the Ranger memorial.
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The English Channel water along the cliffs.
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The view from the German pillbox under the Ranger Monument. From here the German units could see the thousands of ships bringing soldiers to the shore.
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A German gun emplacement
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Early on June 6, 225 Army Rangers were tasked with scaling the steep cliffs at Pointe du Hoc. The task was complicated by rough seas and thick smoke from the bombardment. Despite this and fierce resistance from the Germans, most of the Rangers made it to the top.

After two days of fighting, only 90 of the 225 survived.

The Rangers' heroic assault resulted in heavy casualties, but it paved the way for the Allied invasion and prevented a German counterattack.
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