Mémorial de Caen, Normandy Beaches and Cemeteries, Bayeux, Juilley, Mont-St-Michel

August 4

Situated on the banks of the Orne, the port of Caen suffered great damage in the 1944 invasion of Normandy. Nearly three-quarters of its buildings, 10,000 in all, were destroyed, though the twin abbeys founded by William the Conqueror and his wife, Mathilda, were spared. In the mid-11th century, Caen became the favorite residence of William the Conquerer and Queen Matilda, and the beautiful twin abbeys founded by them still remain, and helped earn Caen the appellation "city of spires."

We didn’t have the time to visit the Abbaye-aux-Hommes, which guide books rank even higher than the Caen Memorial. The Abbaye-aux-Hommes was founded by William the Conqueror in 1066 as penance. n 1049 William the Conqueror married the daughter of the Count of Flanders, Matilda. It was a political alliance, ensuring the neutrality of Normany's powerful neighbour during turbulent times. The Pope opposed the marriage, however, and excommunicated William on the grounds that the couple were distant cousins. Both descended from Rollo, the first Duke of Normandy. A talented Italian monk, Lanfranc, Prior of Le Bec Abbey, pleaded William's cause and by 1059 had won the Pope's approval for the union. The Pope's conditions were that William and Matilda should build two abbeys, one for men and one for women. This is how Caen gained two magnificent abbeys and a ducal palace (which we did not have time to visit). Lanfranc rose to become the first Abbot of L'Abbaye aux Hommes and later Archbishop of Canterbury.The Conqueror himself was buried in the church. The church is made from local Caen stone (also used for Canterbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and the Tower of London). Abbaye-aux-Dames was founded by Queen Mathilda in 1063. Queen Matilda, who died in 1083, lies buried in the church's 12th-century choir under a slab of black marble.

After a very nice petit dejeuner of croissants, baguettes, confitures et boissons chauds in our hotel, we started out on a day largely dedicated to the Normandy Beach Invasion and related memorials. The largest and deadliest military operation in history commenced on these beaches on June 6, 1944. Over 100,000 allied troops landed on the first day. A million more would follow by the time the Normandy Campaign ended on June 30th. During that period, over 400,000 military personnel (Allied and German) and French civilians were wounded, killed or missing.

Starting with the memorial at Caen, our travel would take us from North to South - the beaches named, Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah. Summarizing each:

Caen - The film at the War Memorial Museum in Caen is unforgettable. It is a must see. It is approx 30 min and shows a split screen of German and Allied forces actual war footage.

Sword - Ouistreham

Juno - Courseulles-sur-Mer - Cdn Museum at Juno Beach on its W edge, Cdn cemetery nearby at Beny-sur-Mer

Gold - Arromanches-les-Bains - small museum recommended not to be missed, but we did.

Omaha - Pointe du Hoc - U.S. cemetary near Colleville-sur-Mer

Utah - Pointe du Hoc - picturesque headland with its beautiful far-reaching views - worth visiting only if you are in the area

We headed out before 0900 for the Caen Memorial. Officially named Le Mémorial de Caen, un musée pour la paix - "The Caen Memorial, a Museum for Peace," the Caen Memorial is regarded as the best World War II museum in France. With over 6,000,000 visitors since it opened, it is the second most visited site in Normandy after Mont-St-Michel. This entire facility provides good context and a frame of reference for the beaches. In addition, a separate large exhibit for 911 has been set up, which is powerful. It has a tremendous amount of information and on war and peace far broader than WW II and Normandy.

At its rear is the Canadian Memorial Garden, comprised of a terrace that names all of the Canadian units that fought in the Battle of Normandy. Across the valley is a grove with a black granite slab containing the names of all the Normandy communes they liberated.

At Ouistreham, 18 km from Caen, we visited Sword Beach, with some memorials dedicated to some of the individuals who lost their lives June 6 in liberating the town. I think it is there that we met an American, there with his 2 young sons and their friend. He had bought a holiday home in Saint-Lo because he thought it had “good value”, going on to say that value extended well beyond real estate. He said the little town in which they live in Virginia had lost something like 90 people in 911 and that he’d been in NYC that day. Because of that, he said he’d never be able to see a memorial such as that we mentioned we’d just seen in Caen.

Our next stop was Courseulles-sur-Mer, Juno Beach, 27 km up the beach to the south. It is only after you visit each beach that you realize that each beach was a point along an extended front and not cheek to jowl with units on their flanks. The Juno Beach Centre is a museum located at Courseulles-sur-Mer, immediately behind the Juno invasion beach on which 14,000 Canadian troops stormed the 8 kilometre (5.5 mile) stretch of beach between Graye-sur-Mer and St. Aubin-sur-Mer on June 6, 1944. They were followed by 150,000 additional Canadian troops over the next few months. In the summer of 1944, the Canadian military used the port of Courseilles to unload upwards of 1,000 tons of material a day for the first two weeks following D-Day.

In many respects, a considerable portion of the education relating to the Normandy Invasion is accomplished with the Caen Memorial; however, the Juno Beach Centre is solely focused on the Canadian contribution. Within that, there are uniforms and material that is uniquely ours, and there is also personalized content, such as letters that have been retained, as well as drawings and paintings by military personnel during the war.

Arromanches-les-Bains, 23 km up the coast, is the site of the portable ports, Mulberry Harbours, this being the surviving Port Winston. A good place for some pics, and there’s also a very impressively high white statue, along with some outdoor photography that captures the spirit of the time. Before we arrived, though, we took a break for lunch at an outdoor stand with chairs and tables that served a camp ground. Some had frenchified hamburgs or ham and cheese on baguette, while others had omelettes or crepes. A nice break.

After Arromanches, we had originally intended to see the large gun emplacements at Longues-sur-Mer before lunch, but our schedule was slipping, so we decided to see the Bayeux tapestries first. This is another pretty little town, and I wish we’d had some time to explore its streets. Tip: from the parking lot, instead of walking from there to the right, look for the walkway to the left that immediately reaches the approximate front entrance to the exhibit. This is a surprisingly good choice. Included ion the price are audio sets in several languages that describe panel by panel the events surrounding the Battle of Hastings that are depicted on the tapestry. It’s sorta like being on a human assembly line, governed by the tempo of the description.

The most famous tapestry in the world is actually an embroidery on linen, 69m (226 ft.) long and .5m (20 in.) wide, depicting 58 scenes in eight colors. It was probably commissioned in Kent and created by unknown embroiderers between 1066 and 1077. The first mention of the embroidery was in 1476, when it decorated the nave of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux. Housed in a Plexiglas case, the embroidery tells the story of the conquest of England by William the Conqueror, including such scenes as the coronation of Harold as the Saxon king of England, Harold returning from his journey to Normandy, the surrender of Dinan, Harold being told of the apparition of a comet (a portent of misfortune), William dressed for war, and the death of Harold. The decorative borders include scenes from Aesop's Fables.

At this point, I was the first to realize that we’d forgotten to visit the Canadian cemetery near Coursulles-sur-Mer in Beny-sur-Mer. Missing it was simply not an option, and, even with the additional 30 minute, 1-way transit, off we scrambled. The cemetery contains 2,049 headstones enclosed by pines and maples. These mark the dead of the 3rd Division and the graves of 15 airmen. It is very peaceful and well kept. Many stones have ages of young men, who hadn’t even reached 20 years of age.

At Longues-sur-Mer, the massive German artillery guns that fired on Omaha Beach and Gold Beach during the invasion still stand on their concrete pads. They are well set back from the cliffs, and one can walk to the cliff face and along for the wide view. Each gun could fire a 100lb shell a distance of nearly 13 miles at a maximum rate of six rounds per minute.

By the time we arrived at the Amercian Colleville-sur-Mer cemetery, it was 1830, and closed at 1800. The remains of 9,386 American military dead were buried here on territory now owned by the United States, a gift from the French nation. Nothing could be seen, but my memory from 45 years ago is of perfectly straight lines of weight crosses from any angle and impeccable grounds.

At La Pointe du Hoc, 255 US Army Rangers scaled the cliffs to capture the posts. They took the cliff and repulsed counterattacks for two days. By the time reinforcements arrived, more than half the Rangers were dead or wounded. The site, under US government jurisdiction, has been preserved almost exactly as it was at that time. The gaping bomb craters, concrete bunkers splattered with bullet holes, rolls of barbed wire, and rusty landing craft treads in the surf of Utah Beach at the foot of the cliffs can still be seen.

By this time, we were really running late and, rather than proceeding to le Mont-St-Michel as planned before our hotel, we went directly to Juilley and our hotel. Yet to have supper, we arrived at 2130. We quickly met Mr. Tizon, as he was anxious to not have us not be too late for supper. He recommended a restaurant in Céaux. It turned out it was no longer serving, but we’d passed a place just previously, and returned to Auberge Creperie Avallon. Its crew were in the process of shutting down, but said they’d serve us. Shortly after, another party of 3 joined. We learned sometime after that we were t 1^st customers they had had since their opening for lunch - sad.

We had a very pleasant evening - moules again for Kim; ham in a calvados and cider mixture, whose name is pommeau, for me; Normandy chicken with a mushroom sauce for Lynda; steak and frites for Gerald; and the best mushroom and gruyere galette - the best she said she’d had this trip. Lynda and I had muscadet white wine, Mom and Kim a Bordeaux red, and Gerald a local blonde beer, all of which were very good. Upon hearing that its owner also was a producer of cider, I also had some - very good, and best I’d had.

Our 2 lady severs were very friendly and natural. At the end of the evening, its owner/chef came out, originally to field a technical argument about wine classifications, he disagreeing with his customer… He then went on at length with us on that subject before switching into a long discourse on how taxation relating to the common European market was ruining France and leaving its citizens with no money to spend. During the evening, I had asked if the servers would like to be in a pic and have it sent to them by email. They were delighted, and Gerald obliged, as, for the 1^st time, both my rechargeable batteries had been exhausted within the day. We left a nice tip and headed out for Mont St-Michel, lit at night.

Athough there was initial grousing at the thought of continuing on to Mont-St-Michel after supper, that was quickly retracted upon seeing its lighted face as we approached. We arrived at maybe 2300. I was shocked to see perhaps 200 cars, parked along the side of the road. Before Pointe du Hoc, my camera had given notice that its 2^nd battery was failing, so I’d reserve the balance or Mont-St-Michel. Splendid views at night. Internet for photos… By the time we got back to Juilley, it was 0030.

The room was very nice, with a double and 3 single beds, the double separated by a partition wall along its length and a netting along its foot. Shower and bathroom all nice. Life is good.