October 2024

Normandy, France.

On an earlier cruise, I looked forward to visiting Le Havre and the memorials at Normandy. I have been interested in World War II history most of my life, so this trip was a bucket list item for me. Unfortunately, the weather canceled that stop, and we had to wait until October 2024 to journey from the dock at Le Havre to the beaches and the American Cemetery at Normandy. The stop at Le Havre was a full day, and our excursion by bus will be shared with you in a series of posts. Our first stop was Omaha Beach.

There are several memorials on the beach. The beach sand is now steeped in history and contains the blood of the many who fought and died there. “Les Braves,” also known as “The Brave,” was created by Anilore Banon and installed on June 6, 2004, to mark the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings. The sculpture, made of stainless steel, stands tall on the beach, symbolizing the courage and sacrifice of the soldiers who landed there.

Three placards describe the memorial. The three elements of the monument are “The Wings of Hope,” “Rise, Freedom!,” and “The Wings of Fraternity.” Each element carries a message about the spirit of those who fought on D-Day, their fight against oppression, and the bond of brotherhood forged in the face of adversity. The monument serves as a reminder of the human cost of war and the importance of freedom and unity.

When we arrived, several tour buses were at the memorial, and our bus disgorged another 45 people. The beach was crowded. About 15 people were around the memorial when I took my opening photo, but Adobe Photoshop’s Remove Distractions tool allowed me to share an image of the sculpture without people. Here’s another view that was more typical of the photos I captured.

This monument on the beach is dedicated to those who liberated Europe. In French and English, the inscriptions read, “THE ALLIED FORCES LANDING ON THIS SHORE WHICH THEY CALL OMAHA BEACH LIBERATE EUROPE JUNE 6TH 1944“

The images above and below feature views of the beach. The upper photo shows a view to the west, and the lower photo shows a view to the east.

We spent about thirty minutes at the memorial and then boarded the bus to visit the American Cemetery at Normandy. Though I found the memorials at the beach moving, they paled in comparison to the feelings I had when I saw the American Cemetery. I will share those photos next week. You can view a gallery of these images on my Flickr site in 2K HD here.

John Steiner