Remembering D-Day 77 Years Later

D-Day Landing Beaches Then & Now

77th Anniversary

D-Day

June 6, 2021

On June 6, 1944, D-Day, my father landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. He never spoke much about that day, other than to say that his tank had sunk, he had been rescued, and was redeployed. He was in his early 20s at the time.

Today marks another anniversary of D-Day, the day that the allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy to begin to take back Europe.   The generation that fought that battle are slowly fading away, leaving only written accounts in their place.

My father is among those who are no longer with us. He and his comrades live on in our hearts as we honor them today during the commemoration of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy.  On the occasion of the 75th Anniversary (2019), a few surviving soldiers gathered to participate in various events.  Since then, there have been few able to return there due to the pandemic.

77th Anniversary - New British Monument

For the second year in a row, anniversary commemorations were marked by virus travel restrictions that prevented veterans or families of fallen soldiers from the U.S., Britain, Canada and other Allied countries from making the trip to France. Only a few officials were allowed exceptions.

Socially distanced participants gathered at the site of the newly-built British Normandy Memorial near the village of Ver-sur-Mer. Bagpipes played memorial tunes and warplanes zipped overhead trailing red-white-and-blue smoke. 

The new monument pays tribute to those under British command who died on D-Day and during the Battle of Normandy. A text carved on the wall writes: “They died so that Europe might be free.”

 

“These are the men who enabled liberty to regain a foothold on the European continent, and who in the days and weeks that followed lifted the shackles of tyranny, hedgerow by Normandy hedgerow, mile by bloody mile,” Britain’s ambassador to France, Lord Edward Llewellyn, said at the inauguration of a new British monument to D-Day’s heroes.

 
  Retracing History

My parents went back to Normandy many years later for the 40^th anniversary observance.  He visited the grave of his commanding officer in the American Cemetery (shown to the left). Despite all his bravery, that sight moved him to tears.My husband and I returned to Omaha Beach and several historic sites in Normandy, France for the 60^th anniversary.

This was a very moving experience for us as well and it brought to life events which until then was just something we read about in history books.

That trip was in conjunction with a 12 Night British Isles / Norwegian Fjords cruise.   We arranged for a private tour with a local guide during which we walked on the beaches, visited all four of the cemeteries and other memorial sites.

Normandy Then & Now

The benefit of using a local guide was that we not only visited the various sites, but were also provided historical background, through images from 1944 so that we could experience Normandy in a totally different way.

Must See Sites

Our guide picked us from our ship in LeHarve early in the morning and returned us there in early evening.   He could have gone longer, but we were tired and decided to return to the ship instead of having dinner in Honfleur.


77th Anniversary Links:

D-Day 77th anniversary - 2021 - Normandy commemorations

Battle of Carentan (101st Airborne)

National D-Day Memorial

Commemorative Photos

 

More Coverage  on Twitter      @ChrisPappinMCC

D-Day Landing - Arnhem (Groesbeek) - Liberation Museum

 

Powerful interactive exhibit on #DDay and #Normandy Invasion from @USNatArchives & @Google is available here: D-Day and the Normandy Invasion   

 

Explore artifacts, oral histories, and more from The National WWII Museum D-Day

In honor of this Anniversary of D-Day, we have verified links in our previous blog articles.  Visit our Shutterfly Share Page for our Normandy (D-Day) Photo Albums.

Read More on our Blog:

Normandy, France - Retracing History

Our tour started with visits to all three cemeteries:

The British Cemetery (Bayuex War Cemetary)
Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial
German Cemetery (La Cambe German Cemetery)

Normandy, France - Retracing History (Part 2)

Not far from  Normandy Beaches we stopped at:

Le Grand Bunker Museum 
Pegasus Bridge
 
Normandy, France - Retracing History (Part 3)

We concluded our Normandy visit with three destinations:
St Mere Eglise
Pointe du Hoc
Honfleur, France

D-Day      6 June 1944

The beaches were quiet the day we visited the Normandy Beaches unlike the early morning hours in 1944. I encourage you to include a visit to Normandy should your cruise call in LeHavre, France.  Bring the entire family, especially children, so that they can bring history to life.

 D-Day - A Critical Moment In History



Utah beach    Pointe du Hoc   Omaha beach    Gold beach   Juno beach   Sword beach

Some More D-Day References on the Web

Tuesday June 6, 1944 : minute per minute
Normandie Mémoire
National D-Day Mermorial Foundation

 

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