Day 6 - D-Day Ceremonies

June 6 - the 70th Anniversary of D-Day - "The Longest Day"

We had a 5:00 a.m. start to get to the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach for the bi-national Franco-American ceremony. Paul's narration during our ride was gripping ... he told us minute by minute and practically yard by yard what had been happening at each spot we passed, exactly 70 years ago. Very moving, too, was the fact that one of our D-Day veteran pilots sat up suddenly in his seat and exclaimed that we were just passing the place where he had been shot down. Nothing could make the day more electric than this.

We received our formal invitation cards to the official ceremony on the coach. All vehicles needed to stop at a security checkpoint at Carentan where sniffer dogs checked our luggage hold and two members of the French Armed Forces joined us for the final drive to the Cemetery. We arrived and were seated by 9:30 a.m., exactly per instructions. While waiting we were entertained by the arrival of many important helicopters bearing President Hollande, President Obama in Marine One, and other dignitaries.

The ceremony began over an hour late, about 11:10 a.m. The speeches have been recorded by TV news for posterity, so I will not go into detail. I will say that I liked President Hollande's speech better than Obama's. Hollande spoke poetically and with gravity (I will never forget his chilling allusion to a "sea of blood"). Obama's speech seemed disjointed, and with all the practice he could have had, he couldn't pronounce "les États-Unis" in French to save his life. Paul told me afterwards that the historicity in his speech was "flabby." I don't know about that, but my mind did wander to President Reagan's famous 1984 "The Boys of Pointe du Hoc" speech, admirably written by Peggy Noonan, and not by a committee. (This is not political comment. It's my opinion as a professional speechwriter.) 

At the end of the ceremony there was an American F-15 fly-by that was supposed to be in the Missing Man formation. Unfortunately, the pilots mistimed their manoeuver, and by the time they flew overhead the assembled company, the missing man gap had already been filled by #4. Nonetheless, it was exciting. And I very much loved the booming of the 21-gun salute.

The aftermath of the ceremony was chaotic. The French had organized a rota of buses to pick up the 14,000 visitors, but without disseminating any public information. It turned out that tour coaches were at the bottom of the pecking order. This meant that we had to wait in the sun, without seating, food, or information, until after 4:00 p.m. to be picked up. Miscommunication with our driver lead us to believe that his vehicle might have broken down, and we were all worried for a while, mostly for the safety and comfort of the more elderly in our group. Thanks to the offices of the French police, who were unsnarling traffic 56 KM away, the buses finally started arriving. And we owe a debt of gratitude to the US Consul and two of his attachés, who made some calls for us and began to broadcast useful information to all the waiting visitors. 

Bearing in mind that no one was shooting at us, one cannot really complain. It was sad, though, that due to the elongation of our time at the Cemetery, we were unable to visit Utah Beach and Museum per our schedule. Our other stop, at Grandcamp Maisy German Battery, we rescheduled for the following day.

Next day >

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.

Next day >