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| (Above: Arromanches Today. Below: Arromanches in World War II. Note the remains of the "Mulberry Harbor" in the first picture.) |
Our final stop in Normandy was Arromanches, the site of a temporary harbor known as a “Mulberry Harbor.” Huge blocks of cement were dropped off by ships to make a breakwater and you can still see the remnants of these out in the bay beyond the town. It was interesting to see pictures of the town in that time and compare it to the way it is now. One can almost imagine the bridges and pipelines which supplied the war out here.
The true highlight of this area, and the end of our journey
through Normandy was a place called "Arromanches 360 Theater". It's exactly how it sounds, a circular room with screens all around that show movies which give a perspective looking back at everything we’d seen from Utah to Arromanches. It spanned the rise of the Nazis to the push
of the allies into Normandy to Paris.
The movie shows the sacrifice and suffering – the triumph and tragedy of the war. The room reverberates with the sound of guns, in one point a screen will show a gun firing and it literally felt like the shot traveled over my head, sailed a thousand feet and impacted with a heavy and thunderous explosion on the other side of the theater. The sheer sound of these guns, is deafening. There scenes and words of battle – from great men like Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Charles de Gaulle. These are poignant, spelling out the need to route out tyranny and restore freedom. They reflect the sacrifice of the men who fought and died.
The movie shows the sacrifice and suffering – the triumph and tragedy of the war. The room reverberates with the sound of guns, in one point a screen will show a gun firing and it literally felt like the shot traveled over my head, sailed a thousand feet and impacted with a heavy and thunderous explosion on the other side of the theater. The sheer sound of these guns, is deafening. There scenes and words of battle – from great men like Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Charles de Gaulle. These are poignant, spelling out the need to route out tyranny and restore freedom. They reflect the sacrifice of the men who fought and died.
(About the Arromanches 360 Theater)
The movie ends showing the ruins of war fading into
the modern day. Watching this "then and now section, I felt a strange quiet settle into me. I saw the treasures
of France – the Bayeux Tapestry, the Mona Lisa, and areas of Normandy like Arrromanches. The guns went silent, the bloody battle ended, and all that was left was a strange and surreal peace. Just the sight of the Allies driving through the
Arc de Triumph is enough to stir anyone's patriotism.
(Video from youtube about the liberation of Paris)
The scenes of battle are grim, sometimes brutal, but true
to fact. It was a perspective of the
French and the Americans and I had no idea there was such a push on faith
itself during that time. It seems a far
cry from what we see today where we face a fight with a new evil as pervasive
and cruel as the Nazis. We see the same
warning signs, and for some reason, we treat them the same as was treated in
that time. I could not help but fear
that history, and these scenes, would soon repeat themselves.
(Vintage News Reel)
We emerged from the darkness of the theater and out into
warm sunlight and clear blue skies. It was
as if to give a light of hope from our stormy beginning. Like the war, we began against those stormy
seas and eventually ended our D-Day Journey in the warm light of day.
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Final thoughts on Normandy
At the end of our trip through Normandy I thought back to the stories of Reggi's father back in Bouceel, to the treasures I had seen in Paris or throughout France. Everywhere I had gone, the men on these beaches fought and died for the freedoms I now have. The privileges everyone possesses and the fact I could stand where they stood is because of these places and those people.
Through the course of Normandy I ran the gamit of emotions, and the weather seemed to reflect real events. Normandy started out as a disaster for the allies, a disaster in stormy weather no less. It ended with a bright shining day for us, and for them in time. Emerging from that theater into the sun and looking out over the sea, thinking about all i had experienced is not something I am ever going to forget, nor would I ever wish to. I think that everyone should go to Normandy at least once in their life. You won't regret it.
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| Saint James Cemetery |
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| Utah Beach |
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| Omaha Beach |
