How fitting that two weeks before Memorial Day, I was touring the beaches of Normandy, France, where the Allies in World War II staged the largest amphibious attack ever to liberate Western Europe from Fascism. On D-Day itself (June 6, 1944), over 2,500 US soldiers were killed; another 29,000 died during the entire Normandy campaign, which lasted another three months.[1]
Although not a military history buff, I was not immune to the emotional impact of walking the beaches where so many gave their lives over 80 years ago. We started at the WWII Normandy American Cemetery on a bluff over Omaha Beach. The 172-acre site holds nearly 10,000 white marble tombstones. This is only a third of those who lost their lives since two-thirds of US families requested that the remains of their loved ones be returned to America. The grounds, maintained by the United States, are immaculate; no weeds are visible.
I had to lean close to read the names, home states, and death dates inscribed on the tombstones. However, if a ceremony was recently held in the soldier’s honor, sand from the beach is rubbed into the inscription, making it stand out more against the brilliant white stone. Some died on the first or second day of the invasion; others, months later.
Hearing or reading stories about brothers or fathers and sons who died in the campaign made the experience that much more poignant. For instance, thirty-three pairs of brothers lie together, including the Pieper twins, Ludwig and Julius. Both died when their ship struck a mine and sank off the coast, but only Ludwig’s remains were initially found. It wasn’t until 74 years later, the result of a high school student’s research project and the technical advances of DNA, that Julius’s remains were identified and the two reunited in the cemetery. Also buried here are two of the four Niland brothers, whose story inspired the movie “Saving Private Ryan.”
We then quickly stopped at Gold Beach and the small town of Arromanches, which is in the British zone and ground zero for the D-Day invasion. You can still see the remains of an artificial harbor that the Allies built in just a few days to unload 54,000 vehicles, 326,000 troops, and 110,000 tons of goods. This logistical feat, carried out under German gun batteries, still boggles my mind. Similar harbors were erected on American beaches but have since washed out to sea.
We ended the day at celebrated American D-Day sites, including Omaha Beach, where US troops suffered their greatest losses; Pointe du Hoc, where American Rangers scaled towering cliffs to establish a beachhead; and Ste-Mere-Eglise, where the 82nd and 101st Airborne Division successfully parachuted behind enemy lines on June 5, 1944, to support the Americans landing at Utah Beach. “The Longest Day,” a 1962 movie starring John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, and Sean Connery, among others, depicts the terrible weather and heavy antiaircraft fire that led many to land off-target. Private John Steele dangled from the town’s church steeple for several hours before being captured by the Germans and brought to a hospital. He subsequently escaped and made his way to England. A parachute and mannequin still hang from the steeple where he got snagged. The museums in the area are first-rate and include a lot of actual footage and artifacts, including remnants of German bunkers from the invasion. Seeing it all first-hand leaves an impression you can’t get from history books.
The bravery and sacrifice of the men and women who gave their lives for a freedom we still enjoy today is hard to fathom. Many French citizens (some 20,000) lost their lives because of the Allied bombardments and subsequent fighting in the area, something I don’t recall learning about in school. As the Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight D. Eisenhower bore ultimate responsibility for the success or failure of the operation. Making the tough decision to proceed with the invasion despite uncertainty about weather and logistical challenges, as well as the knowledge that so many would die, is not something with which I would want to be faced.
22 May 2025
[1] About 11,000 British and 5,000 Canadians were also killed during the Normandy campaign. And these are just a fraction of the estimated 60-85 million who lost their lives during World War II, one of the deadliest conflicts in human history.
Sadie Campbell • May 26, 2025 at 8:35 pm
Beautifully written essay, Janet. Thank you for sharing. Sadie