Normandy 2nd day (Pic heavy)

[Rocknroll59]

I'll post some 1st day, well afternoon pictures of Normandy later but thought I would shift through some of day one 1st visiting the Omaha beach, then finishing with Arromanches......everyone was getting into the spirit of the occasion.

Picture heavy

Omaha beach with a lone American jeep, quite the opposite to 70 years ago...

The attention to detail was extraordinary......

Not the sort of helmet that you would want to wear.!!

Locals dressed as liberating troops...

2 veterans enjoying the attention, everyone wanted a picture with or of them

2 more locals dressed for day and young as well as older joined in...

2 of the beach, one in dramtic tone highlighting the beach profile, people just happened to walk by and I quite liked it...the other someone had written in the sand which beach it was, 3 secs later and the sea washed it away, just as it did 70 years ago...

the last picture of the sunset which I just could not resist...in the going down of the sun we will remember them..

Thanks for looking I hope you enjoy them, post some more tomorrow on day 2.

Cheers

Peter

[banjukes]

Re: Normandy 2nd day (Pic heavy)

Lovely set Peter and very thought provoking. The loss of life was huge so we today could be free. Heroic men and women all.

[Graptolite]

Re: Normandy 2nd day (Pic heavy)

Thanks for posting these Peter.

70 years ago last Friday, my grandmother woke up and said "I dreamt of Jack (my mother's older brother) last night. He was surrounded by water and calling to me. I think he's dead." A couple of days later the telegram arrived. He was found floating in the water somewhere near Arromanches and probably didn't even make it onto the beach. He's buried in the Bayeux war cemetery. Almost exactly four years before D-day he had been evacuated from Dunkirk aboard the City of London fire tender 'Massey Shaw'.

Today I visited my mother (now aged 90) and asked her if she had watched any of the commemmorations from Normandy. No, she told me, it was all still too fresh in her mind and too painful, so she had turned off her TV and read a book instead.

[Phill D]

Re: Normandy 2nd day (Pic heavy)

Excellent images conveying lots of different emotions. Don't blame you for grabbing the sunset it's beautiful and very special at this time. That was a very touching story David, I'm glad you were able to share it with us.

[Zuiko]

Re: Normandy 2nd day (Pic heavy)

The Hell that those young men had to endure goes far beyond what should be expected from any human being. The courage they displayed went far beyond bravery and heroism. What they achieved went far beyond mere victory - they secured an unprecidented era of peace in Europe that has prevailed for almost 70 years and hopefully will endure for all time. A peace that has spared my generation (I was born just 10 years after the end of the War) and subsequent generations from the physical sacrifices and permanent mental scars that the survivors suffered and the ultimate sacrifice of those who died.

Now few of those exceptional men remain and those who do grow fewer and frailer with every passing year. The Normandy Veteren's Association is to disband and it is sadly only a matter of time before we lose our last living links to that terrible time, which brought out both the very worst and the very best of humanity.

May they never fade away, but burn brightly in our hearts for evermore as we remember them with awe, respect, gratitude and affection. May we honour them with the best memorial possible, the resolve to never, ever, let it happen in Europe again and to work tirelessly towards establishing peace in other parts of the World still cursed by the horror of war.

[pdk42]

Re: Normandy 2nd day (Pic heavy)

Amen to that John. I read Anne Frank's diary last week (strangely I'd never done so before) and that's another great reminder of the follies of the human race. We all need to remember these horrific events of the past lest we allow our political leaders to take us there again.

[Zuiko]

Re: Normandy 2nd day (Pic heavy)

Amen to that John. I read Anne Frank's diary last week (strangely I'd never done so before) and that's another great reminder of the follies of the human race. We all need to remember these horrific events of the past lest we allow our political leaders to take us there again.

Yes, it's always the political leaders who cause the wars, never the men who actually have to fight. Sometimes war cannot be avoided; what other option was there when a madman seized power in Germany and ran amok in Europe, perpetrating the vilest, most horrific crimes in human history and threatening the very survival of our own nation? But there are times when nations, or rather their leaders, play unnecessary brinkmanship and show unwarranted aggression, recent events regarding Crimea and Ukraine being a prime example. Obama, Putin and Cameron were all present at the D-Day 70th anniversary - I would have liked to have seen a little more warmth and camaraderie between them and some dates put in their diaries to settle their petty differences over a few cold beers.

[Ross the fiddler]

Re: Normandy 2nd day (Pic heavy)

Thanks again for sharing all these photos.

[Phill D]

Re: Normandy 2nd day (Pic heavy)

Excellent sentiments John if only you had a job in the Foreign office.

[Rocknroll59]

Re: Normandy 2nd day (Pic heavy)

John it's the everyday folk like you and others that do not see the sense in war...unfortunately politicians sometimes see war as a way of enhancing their position in society, there is still an enquiry ongoing about Tony Blairs involvement in Iraq and the whole WMD debate....so your sentiments are echo'd by me as well..

on the photo side I could not be anything other than in awe of the humble and matter of fact attitude of the veterans.....' we had a job to do and we went and did it. I didn't enjoy doing it killing people etc but we had to end the tyrany'....

Cheers

Peter

[Zuiko]

Re: Normandy 2nd day (Pic heavy)

John it's the everyday folk like you and others that do not see the sense in war...unfortunately politicians sometimes see war as a way of enhancing their position in society, there is still an enquiry ongoing about Tony Blairs involvement in Iraq and the whole WMD debate....so your sentiments are echo'd by me as well..

on the photo side I could not be anything other than in awe of the humble and matter of fact attitude of the veterans.....' we had a job to do and we went and did it. I didn't enjoy doing it killing people etc but we had to end the tyrany'....

Cheers

Peter

Your pictures do them justice and capture the mood of the occasion. Sadness yes, but also a sense of celebration and certainly heartfelt gratitude from the French hosts to whom the anniversary clearly meant a lot.