Day 7 - From Dead Man's Corner to La Pointe du Hoc

June 7 - German defenses, dead Germans, then Americans again

We were very lucky today. The D-Day traffic had calmed down a lot and we were able to reroute our itinerary to take in places we had missed earlier.

First was Dead Man's Corner. The corner got its name when an American tank was knocked out right in front of the German command house. The tank sat there for days with the dead American tank commander sticking up from the turret. The troops began referring to it as "the corner where the dead man's in the tank." This was shortened to "Dead Man's Corner." Lugubrious, but war is hell. At Dead Man's Corner there is a fantastic shop of war finds, curios, and mementos. Attention reenactors - great place to kit yourself out with both authentic and reproduction gear!

From here we motored to a most unusual and authentic site, Grandcamp Maisy German Battery. This is the site of a secret German defensive position that was only rediscovered six years ago, at which point it was entirely buried by time. A British military historian has bought up the land and dug out the trenches, machine-gun tobruks, and bunkers, so that one may walk (cautiously) through the original site. Here, as elsewhere on our journey, we found poppies growing wild on the trench verges. A bright dot of color here and there providing a touching reminder of the war dead.

Next up we visited La Cambe German Cemetery. The French were not too keen to give land to inter the bodies of their enemies but after some political negotiations, this site (among others) was eventually granted for the remains of 21,000 German soldiers. They are buried two and three together, and unlike the American Cemetery, the plots do not bear individual crosses; only a plaque with the names, if known. Sets of five low iron crosses are scattered throughout the space, however, as a memorial element. We came across a small party of pilgrims celebrating a Mass for peace here. It turned out to be an annual event consisting of French, British, and German bishops, and mostly religious attendees (priests and nuns) from dioceses in Germany and England that have been paired with the French one.

Inside the small information center, I searched for my German ancestral name, Honecker. None were found. Perhaps the spelling would have been different - I don't know. God knows the name Honecker lives in infamy enough. I was just as glad not to find one here. 

The Black Baron

I had an interesting experience at the German cemetery. While approaching the grave of Michael Wittmann, the Black Baron, a highly decorated and frankly lethal tank commander, I felt his presence. In my mind's eye I could see him standing there, in uniform, very proud and military, and not a little annoyed at being gawked at by tourists.


We lunched in Port-en-Bessin, where 420 Green Berets of the 47 Royal Marine Commandos had battled fiercely on D-Day. We saw a gang of their military descendents in their green "Lovats" enjoying a beer and no doubt remembering their proud heritage.

Port en Bessin

After lunch, we traveled back to the American Cemetery. Even though we had spent nearly eight hours there on June 6, due to total uncertainty about our return transportation arrangements, we had not been able to profit from an organized visit lead by Paul. On this occasion several people wanted to descend to Omaha Beach to gather sand and photo souvenirs, so again we split up. (I passed on doing all those steps.) Luckily I bumped into Paul and Keith after a while and Paul showed us to some of the most significant grave markers, including Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., and the two brothers whose story formed the basis for Saving Private Ryan. 

La Pointe du Hoc

Bomb crater

Last but not least on this very long day, we finally made it to La Pointe du Hoc, situated between Utah and Omaha Beaches, where the U.S. Army Rangers mounted their perilous assault up the cliffs. The site is still ravaged by deep bomb craters and one can only imagine the horrifying sights and sounds of pitched battle from air, land, and sea. Visiting this site was a major goal of mine, and I found it moving and strangely exhilarating.

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