SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - 10 years ago, I was honored to participate in the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France. While stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany along with my wife Trish, a fellow Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, we were extended a presidential invitation to partake in the events leading up to the commemoration as well as the formal ceremony of the 65th anniversary of D-Day.
We spent three days touring the region. From the artillery bunkers lining the northern coast, to seeing the chapel where U.S. paratrooper John Steele famously got hung-up on the steeple during the invasion. We travelled to Mont St. Michel, the famous island abby which hosted several color guard events, historical vehicles and military bands performing their nations marches.
To expound on my experience in Normandy in a single article would be a difficult task if not impossible. The area around Normandy was beautiful. I had known very little of D-Day prior to my visit, other than the small history lessons in high school and the film adaptation in Saving Private Ryan. Being able to drive around the countryside and see some of the sights more off the beaten path was remarkable. The area still showed its scars from the war. Craters 100 feet wide lined the shorelines and remains of defensive fighting positions along the cliffs still stood. The emotions evoked when touring the area were both positive and negative. You feel an immense sense of loss, the tragedy of all those lives that never made it home, but also a sense of pride, because of what D-Day meant for the allies in the war and those that would later be liberated. On top of that was the warmth and appreciation from the French, even 65 years later they knew what a sacrifice D-Day was.
On the day of the formal event, there were thousands of us there. We saw Marine One land on the lawn adjacent to the speakers platform followed by then President Obama and French President Nicolas Sarcosy disembarking. They were greeted by U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Prince Charles of Wales and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Each of them took their turn at the stage, speaking about the courage and dedication of those that lost their lives on the beaches of Normandy. They spoke of the strong will, the bravery and the loss. It was a sobering day, but one that filled me with pride.
Once and awhile, I would find myself looking out at the cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, overlooking Omaha Beach. It was staggering how many crosses there were. The area is much like any other cemetery, divided into a grid like pattern, only what made this different was that nearly all these people died within a matter of days, in one place, not over hundreds of years.
Ten years later, I look back on that experience as one of the greatest of my life. As a third-generation veteran with family that has served in just about every major US conflict in the last 75 years including Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam and WW2, being able to meet veterans of D-Day, see the area with my own eyes and learn more about the brave men that stormed Omaha Beach, jumped from their C-47 and gave their lives for what they believed to be a cause greater than themselves, gave me a perspective I would never have had if I hadn't had the opportunity to visit.
Date Taken: | 06.06.2019 |
Date Posted: | 06.06.2019 16:22 |
Story ID: | 325848 |
Location: | SALT LAKE CITY, UT, US |
Web Views: | 96 |
Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 65 years after D-Day: A Guardsmen’s unique opportunity to visit Normandy, by SMSgt John Winn, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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