Photo Album ......France.....Normandy & D-Day






An encampment of WWII re-enactors at St. Mere-Eglise. The re-enactors are mainly French, Belgian and Dutch. They look like American GIs but they don't speak English.



The crowd at the bridge near St. Mere-Eglise waiting for the parachute drop. The smoke is from the grilling of sausages which are tucked into a baguette with sauteed onions and consumed with a glass of beer.



The statue of Iron Mike with the transport planes just visible.



The first jumpers are away. Note that the parachutes are WWII-style round ones, completely different from the ones used today.



The sky is full of parachutes and the crowd is cheering.



Back in town, the re-enactors are in their glory parading through the streets and stopping to swap lies.



More re-enactors.



The church at St. Mere-Eglise with the parachutist hanging from the tower. This one is a dummy and not a re-enactor.




A real rarity, re-enactors in German uniforms. The fellow in the side-car really got into his role, lighting a long, long cigarette and holding it just like the bad Nazis in the bad movies. This camp was at a German bunker north of St. Mere-Eglise and as we drove into the parking lot, the soldiers were lined up in formation with their backs to us, pissing into the ditch.




Re-enactors at the American Cemetery above Omaha Beach. Notice the jeep that says 'Lafayette, we are here.'



The crowd for the ceremony at the American Cemetery was huge.



The color guard at the American Cemetery was all aging French men. There was no official American military presence at this ceremony although we spoke to some active duty types from the support group for the air drop at St. Mere-Eglise.



The reflecting pool at the American Cemetery with the flag indicating the brisk breeze.



The rows of headstones we've all seen in the movies.



More re-enactors preparing to leave the American Cemetery.



Al on the beach at Omaha Beach in front of the newly-installed sculpture.



Wreathlaying ceremony at the memorial on the beach at Omaha Beach. The gentleman assisting his great-granddaughter in the wreathlaying was here on the original D-Day.



After a hard day of attending commemorative ceremonies, we stopped for lunch in Port-en-Bessin.



The beach near where we had lunch was covered with oyster shells.



A British cemetery. Note the difference from the American cemetery with its starkly unadorned rows of headstones. The standards for the British and Canadian cemeteries state that they should resemble a garden and the headstones stand among real flowers. These must be a nightmare to maintain, but the effect is marvelous. Even the gravestones of the German soldiers who are buried in these cemeteries are arranged in garden plots.




A village church near where we stayed while in Normandy. The countryside is dotted with these spires spaced neatly across the landscape, each indicating a small village.



A field of flax, the plant from which we get both linseed oil and linen. In Normandy, flax fields alternate with corn (maize) and wheat as well as pastures for the cows which produce the dairy products prized throughout France.



Monet's waterlily pond. This picture makes it appear as if we had the place to ourselves when in reality it was so mobbed that we could hardly move.




A huge old plane tree in Bayeux. I forget the exact date on the tree, but I believe it was planted sometime in the 1700's. It was certainly the biggest plane tree we saw anywhere.



The cathedral at Bayeux.