Wow, just wow!

The things that I, and the rest of the group witnessed on this 72nd anniversary of D-Day shall never be forgotten....

As a side note, Not much happened today. We took a seven hour bus ride into Belgium. As an interesting comparison, France looks like Ohio, with its flat plains and open spaces and Belgium looks like West Virginia, more hilly and full of trees and bends in the road.
Also, I feel like I should mention that we are not alone on this trip. We are with 5 students and a teacher from a school in Kansas. They are really nice people, and by the second day, we had all became the best of friends. It's going to be a sad day when we all have to say goodbye, but not before we share phone numbers or other social media so we can keep in touch. I'm glad that they are with us, and it has only added to the memories that have been made on this trip.

"Their not in Kansas anymore"

June 6, 1944. That date means so much more to me now then it ever did, and is a day which now holds a different place in my heart, thanks to the wonderful ceremony, the veterans, and all the people who fight to ensure that this day will always be remembered for what happened, and that the sacrifices made by both sides were for a cause that was worth dying for.
We arrived at Omaha beach around 9 A.M. Just as we arrived, a ceremony was starting. This ceremony is something I will never forget. The mayor of the town, whose name escapes me at the moment, as well as a current high ranking officer of the United States military, gave speeches about the sacrifice the solders made on that day, and how their actions have shaped the course of history. The speeches were accompanied by about a dozen veterans who surrounded one of the monuments on the beach. Each were carrying a different flag. I'm not positive about all of the flags, but I believe that in addition to the French and American flag, there were the flags of the different divisions and battalions that fought on Omaha beach on June 6. Once both speeches had been given. The national anthems of the United States and France were played as their respective flags were raised. Afterwords, I went up to shake the hands of the veterans who were in attendance and to thank them for their service.

Once I had talked to the veterans and a few current service members, I went to a place I thought I would never be able to. I stood on the beach were 72 years before, American men fought to break through the Atlantic Wall. It was a surreal feeling to be standing on that beach. I will never forget standing as far down as the tide currently was, and looking all the way back to the beachhead and realizing that that is less then a quarter of the distance that those brave men had to charge up, with machine guns blasting and shells exploding all around them, all while watching their fellow soldiers gen mowed down or blown to hell and back. I have a new found respect for them. Before I only knew, now I understand.

Following that emotional experience, we went to Pointe Du Hoc. Pointe Du Hoc was the location of several 155 mm long range naval guns that could fire on both Utah and Omaha beaches. If these guns were not disabled or destroyed, they could decimate the naval and landing forces attempting to take the beaches. The U.S. Rangers were tasked with taking the point, and disabling the guns. This was however, no easy task. The guns were located at the top of a 150 ft vertical cliff, with little shore to land, and almost no way up. The Rangers used a specially modified landing craft that was capable of launching grappling hooks up the vertical cliff. They were able to assault and take the point, however, the Germans had moved the guns after the bombing and shelling of the point over the last six weeks. The Rangers eventually discovered were the guns were taken and were able to destroy them. Three days later, reinforcements arrived to firmly secure the point. Unfortunately, during the three days of almost constant German counterattack, only 95 of the over 230 men were capable of fighting when it was over.

Our final stop was a small town deeper into France where the 101st airborne first landed. In the small city of Sainte Mere-Eglis, the villagers had a plan to conceal the arrival of the paratroopers. A building was set ablaze late at night, and the townspeople were able to convince the Germans occupying that area to have a temporary life on the curfew to try to save the building. The villagers made as much noise as possible in the hopes that the Germans would not hear the planes flying overhead. The airborne were quick to sweep through the village in an attempt to take it. They did succeed, but not before an unfortunate set of events that unfolded on one man, John M. Steele. Steele jumped in with the 101st, but never made it to the ground. His parachute got caught on the steeple of the city church, and after several hours, he was helped down and then arrested by the Nazi's. After spending several hours in a holding cell, he manages to escape. He returns to the 101st and continues to fight for the remainder of the war. Long after the war, when Steele returned to the village, he became an icon, and thousands of people came to the village to meet the man who got stuck on top of a church.

"He is more famous then the ones who actually fought in the battle"

That's the best that I can do with today. What I said here is only a small part of the emotion that was felt by the entire group at Normandy. No amount of words can fully describe what it is like to be there in person. It is something that every person in the free world should have to do at least once in their lifetime.