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Copyr i ght 2007 by Myl es Saul i bi o. Al l Ri ght s Reser ved

Surprises Revealed in Normandy

I can t bel i eve l ady l uck was smi l i ng on me.
I t s mi d- Sept ember 2006 at t he t ai l end of a
busy t our i st season i n Nor mandy and I have
t he whol e Wor l d I I War bat t l ef i el d t o mysel f
on t he Nor t hwest Coast of Fr ance- - - wel l ,
near l y. Mi nd you, t her e wer e no cr owds, no
f uss, and cool er weat her . Anot her pl us:
Gr eener y I mi ssed seei ng so much i n
Af ghani st an.

Her e I am- af t er a 3 hour t r ai n r i de f r om
Par i s and wai t i ng f or over 26 year s f or t hi s
exper i ence unf ol di ng bef or e me.

Fr om a cl i f f l ookout , i n f r ont of me I gaze
i n wonder over t he vast expanse of beach- - -
Omaha Beach- - - wher e t housands of al l i ed mi l i t ar y per sonnel and
equi pment l anded i n a wi t her i ng hai l of gunf i r e and ar t i l l er y
over 62 year s ago t o st ar t t he begi nni ng of t he end of Wor l d War
I I . The spect acl e i s awe- i nspi r i ng and t he f eel i ng of pr i de and
honor i s def i ni t e.

Thi s over l ook I am st andi ng on
i s j ust nor t h of t he Memor i al
and pr ovi des a compr ehensi ve
vi ew of Omaha Beach, whi ch l i es
bel ow t he cemet er y. A t r ai l
f ol l ows t he cl i f f down t o Omaha
Beach. The l engt h of Omaha Beach
i s mar ked by hi gh, chal k cl i f f s
f r ont ed by wi de, sl opi ng, sand
beaches.

Thi s t he cent er pi ece of an
i ncr edi bl e moment .

D- Day was par t of Oper at i on Over l or d,
t he Al l i ed For ces pl an f or t he i nvasi on
of Nor t her n Eur ope. The act i on i nvol ved
5, 000 vessel s ( l andi ng cr af t , suppor t
shi ps and war shi ps) , 13, 000 ai r cr af t ,
and hundr eds of t housands of
sol di er s. Amer i can f or ces l anded at Ut ah
and Omaha beaches. Br i t i sh sol di er s
l anded at Gol d Beach and Swor d Beach on
each si de of t he Canadi an f or ce, whi ch
l anded at J uno Beach.

Behi nd me i s t he Col l evi l l e Amer i can
cemet er y, al l 172 acr es, wher e 9,387
br ave Amer i can ser vi cemen and
ser vi cewomen r est , t hei r whi t e cr osses

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Copyr i ght 2007 by Myl es Saul i bi o. Al l Ri ght s Reser ved
neat l y ar r ayed i n exact geomet r i c pat t er ns on a bed of gr een
gr ass.

Gener al l y r ect angul ar i n shape, t he cemet er y i s f or med i n a
manner of a Lat i n cr oss. A vi si t t o t he Amer i can Mi l i t ar y
Cemet er y at Col l evi l l e- Sur - Mer ( f eat ur ed at t he st ar t of t he
movi e Savi ng Pr i vat e Ryan) wi l l evoke a
haunt i ng sense of sadness and
i ncompr ehensi on at t he si gni f i cant l oss of
l i f e.

You wi l l f i nd some i nt er est i ng f act s.
Bur i ed her e ar e al so t hr ee hundr ed and
seven Unknowns, three Congr essi onal Medal
of Honor r eci pi ent s, and f our women. Si de
by si de ar e al so bur i ed f at her and son, and
38 pai r s of br ot her s. Ther e ar e mi l i t ar y
f r om al l 50 st at es and t he Di st r i ct of
Col umbi a. Anot her i nt er est i ng f act : many
r emai ns wer e shi pped backed t o t he USA vi a
boat at t he r equest of t he next - of - ki n.

Wal ki ng al ong t he r ows of whi t e cr osses, you l l f i nd t he mar ked
gr ave of Medal of Honor Reci pi ent Br i gadi er Gener al Theodor e
Roosevel t J r . bur i ed next t o hi s br ot her .

A wi de, gr assy
mal l and a
r ef l ect i ng pool
separ at es maj or
por t i ons of t he
gr aves ar eas as i f
t o br i ng at t ent i on
t o mai n pat hs,
gr aves ar ea,
memor i al , and
chapel ar eas.

An i nscr i pt i on
r eads: ...Think
not only upon
their
passing...Remember
the Glory of Their
Spirit...



I n t he mor ni ng cal m, t wi n f l agpol es wi t h
Amer i can Fl ags cast t hei r r ef l ect i ons on
t he r ef l ect i ng pond bear i ng si l ent wi t ness t o t he many f al l en
comr ades.



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.


Near by i s al so a Memor i al i n t he Gar dens of
t he Mi ssi ng engr aved wi t h t he names of 1, 557
sol di er s who di ed i n t he i nvasi on, but whose
bodi es wer e not r ecover ed.
You wi l l l ear n an i nt er est i ng f act : Omaha
Beach was t he most heavi l y def ended and
f or t i f i ed of al l t he i nvasi on beaches. The
Ger mans had er ect ed bar r i er s desi gned t o
r epel i nvader s and t hei r l andi ng cr af t bot h
i n t he wat er and on t he beach. The Ger mans
had heavi l y f or t i f i ed t he cl i f f s and t he wi de
beach was t ar get ed by bunker s posi t i oned t o
be abl e t o pr oduce deadl y
cr ossf i r e.
Pi ct ur es- - - my mi nd dr i f t ed and
i magi ned what t he exper i ence was
l i ke back t hen and El wood ( t our
gui de) wi l l t el l you t hat l andi ng
on Omaha Beach began and near l y
ended i n di sast er . Mi scal cul at i ons
and er r or s became appar ent ear l y.
The sat ur at i on bombi ng of t he beach
def enses by t he heavy bomber s of
t he U. S. Ei ght h Ai r For ce was i nef f ect i ve because a l at e r el ease-
or der ed by Ei senhower t o pr ot ect t he l andi ng cr af t - meant t hat
most bombs f el l wel l behi nd t he beach, ki l l i ng mor e dai r y cows
i nst ead of Ger mans. To t op t hese
mi scal cul at i ons, l andi ng cr af t s wer e
l aunched 10, 000 yar ds of f shor e,
gr eat l y exposi ng t he seasi ck men t o
Ger man f i r e. Many boat s gr ounded on
of f shor e sandbar s, f or ci ng t he
i nf ant r ymen ei t her t o wade ashor e,
dr own, or t o dr i f t i n wi t h t he
advanci ng t i de- - - many of t hem wer e
wi t hout weapons or equi pment .

The i nvasi on f or ces at Omaha f aced
many chal l enges. A number of t he l andi ng cr af t opened f or l andi ng
t oo ear l y and sank. Many sol di er s dr owned bef or e t hey had a
chance t o def end t hemsel ves. Ot her l andi ng cr af t wer e di sabl ed by
enemy f i r e t oo f ar f r om shor e and t he heavi l y bur dened sol di er s

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had t o t r y t o swi m ashor e dur i ng a f i r ef i ght . The i nvadi ng
Amer i can f or ces who r eached t he beach wer e easy t ar get s f r om t he
cl i f f s, and i t i s no wonder t hat casual t i es wer e hi gher her e t han
on any of t he ot her i nvasi on beaches. You may want t o spend some
t i me wal ki ng al ong t he beach and cont empl at i ng t he enor mi t y of
t he i nvasi on ef f or t . I f you do, you wi l l be st r uck by how
peacef ul and t r anqui l i t i s now and how hel l i sh i t must have been
on D- Day wi t h t he si ght s and sounds of bat t l e and deat h ar ound
you. Yes, qui t e unl i ke Dayt ona Beach, Fl or i da dur i ng Spr i ng
Br eak.
Next was i ndeed a t r ue hi ghl i ght of my j our ney. Bet ween Ut ah and
Omaha Beach i s Poi nt e du Hoc. Poi nt e Du Hoc was a st r i ng of gun
empl acement s connect ed by t unnel s and
under gr ound r ooms. I n pr epar at i on f or t he
i nvasi on, Pont du Hoc was bombar ded by t he
Al l i es wi t h l ar ge naval guns and t hi s
pummel i ng r esul t ed i n si gni f i cant damage,
but not enough t o r educe t he t hr eat t hi s
si t e hel d f or Omaha Beach.
Hi st or i cal account s wr i t e about a t eam of
260 U. S Ranger s l ed by Col onel Rudder ,
scal ed near l y 100 f eet of t he cl i f f t o
capt ur e t he Ger man guns and nul l i f y t he
t hr eat posed by t he Ger man cont r ol of Poi nt e
du Hoc. The r anger s f i nal l y achi eved t hei r
goal but l ost t wo- t hi r ds of t hei r t eam i n
t he assaul t .
The st or y of t he at t ack by t he Amer i can
r anger s i s hear t br eaki ng, as ever yt hi ng
t hat coul d have gone wr ong, went
wr ong. Numer ous pr obl ems and
oper at i onal di f f i cul t i es sl owed t he
pr ogr ess of t he at t ack and pl aced t he
r anger s i n t he l i ne of f i r e wel l bef or e
t hey l anded. Fi nal l y, unknown t o t he
Al l i ed For ces, t he Ger man f or ces had
moved t he si x 155mm cannons f r om Poi nt e
du Hoc bef or e t he i nvasi on. The same
r anger s, however , f ound t he guns hi dden
not f ar away and managed t o dest r oy
t hem bef or e t hey coul d be used agai nst
t he al l i es.
Poi nt e du Hoc i s ext r emel y i nt er est i ng.
Ther e ar e a number of t r enches t o
f ol l ow and pi l l - boxes t o expl or e. Take a f l ashl i ght si nce t he
i nt er i or s of many of t he chamber s ar e dar k ( as wel l as wet ) but
i t i s a f asci nat i ng pl ace.

Numer ous expl osi on cr at er s and hunks of concr et e bl ast ed f r omt he
casemat es ar e scat t er ed t hr oughout t he si t e. When you l ook f r om

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t he t op t o t he bot t omof Poi nt du Hoc, i t i s har d t o i mage anyone
cl i mbi ng t he cl i f f s at Poi nt du Hoc, especi al l y sol di er s car r yi ng
weapons and packs whi l e under at t ack by enemy f or ces.





Next : Ut ah Beach. Despi t e bei ng subst ant i al l y of f cour se,
amer i can f or ces l anded her e wi t h r el at i vel y l i t t l e r esi st ance, i n
cont r ast t o Omaha wher e t he f i ght i ng was f i er ce.





Ut ah beach, about t hr ee mi l es
l ong, was t he west er nmost of t he
f i ve l andi ng beaches, The act ual
i nvasi on r esul t ed i n onl y about
200 casual t i es.





You d be sur pr i sed t o know
t hat t he 101
st
and 82d
Ai r bor ne Di vi si ons suppor t ed
Ut ah beach oper at i on. The
101
st
Scr eami ng Eagl es had a
40% casual t y r at e i n t hei r
r ol e.



Nor mandy has pl ent y of bat t l ef i el d t our
gui des t hat l ead you ar ound t he many
si t es i n per haps cr amped t our buses f ul l
wi t h i nf or mat i on over l oaded, t i r ed, and
cr anky t our i st s. For mi l i t ar y hi st or y
buf f s or ser i ous cur i osi t y seeker s, t he
l i st i s t opped by D- Day Tour s, whi ch j ust
cel ebr at ed t hr ee successf ul
year s i n t hi s t ype of
compet i t i ve t our i ng busi ness.

D- Day t our s headquar t er s i s
st at i oned i n St . Mer e Egl i se,
about near Ut ah and Omaha Beach. I n t he cent er of St .
Mer e Egl i se i s a Cat hol i c Chur ch wher e an ef f i gy of
82d Ai r bor ne par achut i st J ohn St eel e hangs f r om t he
Chur ch st eepl e- a r e- cr eat i on of an ear l y mor ni ng J une

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6, 1944 bot ched dr op zone l andi ng t hat ki l l ed many el i t e Amer i can
par at r ooper s.

As expect ed, you wi l l f i nd a l ot of t our i ng i nf or mat i on on
Nor mandy Bat t l ef i el ds f r om many aut hor i t at i ve sour ces. Wi t h t he
r ecent popul ar i t y and success of Hol l ywood hi t movi es l i ke
Savi ng Pr i vat e Ryan and The Band of Br ot her s t her e i s a
r esur gence of cur i osi t y i n mi l i t ar y hi st or y. But what you won t
f i nd anywher e i s an aut hor i t at i ve sour ce of i nf or mat i on t hat
l i ves t he moment ous hi st or i cal event ever yday.

El l wood Von Si ebol d, a Br i t i sh Ex- Pat and f ounder of D- Day Tour s
has a si mpl e appr oach. He get s cr acki ng not onl y wi t h t he
f act oi ds you woul d expect f r omany t our company but st or yt el l i ng,
a uni que bl ended appr oach t o per sonal i zi ng hi st or i cal f act s and
event s f r om a t i mel i ne per spect i ve. Even t he l ocal Fr ench
ci t i zens ar e not awar e of El l wood s knowl edge and keen sense of
l i t t l e known hi st or i cal f act s. Hi s t our s ar e desi gned si mpl y f or
shar i ng hi s wi de r anged under st andi ng of one of t he gr eat est
moment s i n mi l i t ar y hi st or y. By t aki ng a t our wi t h El wood you
have di r ect access t o det ai l ed i nf or mat i on spar ked by a per son
who i s i nt ui t i ve, exci t ed, i nt el l i gent and no a bi t over bear i ng
or i nsensi t i ve t o your l evel of hi st or i cal knowl edge.


Per haps t her e may be di f f er ent sur pr i ses wi t h
your own D- Day t our . You st ar t and end your
t our i n El wood s home, a 17
t h
cent ur y 3- st or y
Fr ench manor wi t h an adj oi ni ng Caf e apt l y
cal l ed CH 47 managed by hi s wi f e Di ana. The
CH 47 Caf e wi t h i t s r esi dent par at r ooper
dangl i ng f r omt he cei l i ng i s r api dl y becomi ng
a popul ar hangout f or
Ex- Pat s want i ng a
qui ck baguet t e
sandwi ch, a cup of
cof f ee, Engl i sh Teas,
or sof t dr i nks. See
what aut ogr aph
si gnat ur e you may f i nd on a CH 47 wi ng
t i p t her e i n t he Caf e!

How about i f El wood pi cked you up at t he
near by Car ent an t r ai n st at i on wi t h hi s
speci al 3x4 Ton aut hent i c mi l i t ar y
command car ?

St i l l , t hr ough El wood and hi s
net wor k you coul d meet some of t he
most i nt er est i ng cel ebr i t i es: t he
or i gi nal member s of t he Band of
Br ot her s, Easy Company, 506
t h
P. I . R,
101
st
Ai r bor ne Di vi si on. Bi l l Guar ner e
was as f ei st y as ever - j ust l i ke hi s

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i nt er vi ews dur i ng t he HBO f i l m. He was one of 13, 000 par achut i st s
who j umped i nt o Nor mandy.

The I ci ng on t he Cake- - - Special Guests: Bill Guarnere & Edward
Babe Heffron, members of the original Band of Brothers.

I wont tell you the biggest surprise from Elwood---inside his
17
th
century home is probably the worlds largest collection of
_______---Im sworn to secrecy, sorry, youll have to find out
yourself.
Wel l , t hi s ends a par t of my j our ney, one I hope i t i nspi r at i onal
f or you as i t was f or me.

I bi d you f ar ewel l f or now as I pr epar e t o r et ur n t o Af ghani st an.



...We merely want to live in peace with all the world, to trade with
them, to commune with them, to learn from their culture as they may
learn from ours, so that the products of our toil may be used for our
schools and our roads and our churches and not for guns and
planes and tanks and ships of war...
General Dwight D. Eisenhower