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Notes for Friday, September 20, 2024

Met our guide, Magali Desquesne, at 9:00 am at British Battle of Normandy Museum.

Suggested watching “Masters of the Skies” series. Mag lives in Bayeux. She spent summers at her grandparents farm. There are many dairy farms and also apple orchards producing cinder.

Heading toward Cherbourg and to Utah Beach, the American areas of D-Day.

  1. million French soldiers taken to Germany as prisoners to work for Germans after French surrendered.”
  2. Mag took us to German cemetery.

    Large mound in center is mass grave. Most graves with individual stones have two soldiers.

    Next, we visited Sainte-Mere-Eglise, where part of “The Longest Day” was filmed. Went into church and then walked around for 15 minutes.

    We drove on to Utah Beach. Looked at monument. Eat lunch at Le Roosevelt Bar Brasserie. It named for Franklin Roosevelt’s son who died there of a heart attach. We saw several German bunkers on the way.

    On to Omaha Beach where the Rangers climbed the cliffs.

    Then we visited the American cemetery near Colleville-sur-Mer. We walked around and then attended the flag lowering and “Taps” at 5:00. It was very moving.

    Returned to Bayeux and back to Airbnb. It is comfortable, but on the second and third floors. A bit of a climb. Went for a walk around town. We decided to snack a little, watch TV, and go to bed.


File processed on Tuesday, October 29, 2024 2:43 PM