This was the day all the WWII buffs on the ship had been waiting for, the visit to the Normandy Beaches, the site of the D-Day invasion. We started our visit on the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, the place where the Allied forces forced themselves onto the land from a fierce sea and then with heavy packs  scaled the 328-foot cliffs while being shot at by heavy German artillery from the cliffs above. Ellen had difficulty reconciling the beautiful white cliffs covered with greenery above a sunny beach where kids were playing by a calm sea with the invasion pictures and facts. Our guide pointed out where all the German guns were and how the Allied forces had to get not only up the cliffs but around back of the Germans.

After seeing the scene from the cliffs, we then went to Omaha Beach and had the view of those landing minus terrible weather and the German artillery. There was artwork commemorating the invasion on the beach.

We then drove to Arromanches, the harbor near Gold Beach, for a picnic lunch. We ate by the beach beside a big motorcycle group. The lovely beach town with partial Mulberries both on the beach and in the harbor were a reminder that this town was not always peaceful.

Our final stop was the American Cemetery where we attended a very moving ceremony. At the end of the ceremony all the veterans from the Bizet were honored. There were quite a few from our tour group of 108. We were then each given a rose to honor one of the young men who had died in the invasion. We spent a little time in the museum hearing stories of hometown boys who had left to fight.

On the way back to the ship, we went through La Havre because a strike was expected and the bus driver thought the traffic might be less on this route. Many of the crew came out to greet us when we arrived. Entertainment that night was a movie on the Battle of Normandy.

Bomb Crators

Battlefield

Pill Box

Artillery Gun Remains

Tour Group

Tour Group

Current Veterans

Memorial Court