World War II Normandy Landings with Rocky

Bonjour mes amis ! That means “hello my friends” in French, of course!

After exploring the beautiful Alsace region in the north east of France, we drove to the very north tip of France to Normandy, the site of several World War II beach landings.

Our first point of interest was indeed a popular one and it was what my human best friend wanted to see the most: Omaha Beach, sight of the historic World War II D-Day Landings.

Arriving by car to the site of Omaha Beach

We parked near the beach and hopped off in search of the historic sites.

There’s tons of history in this massive seaborne D-Day invasion with the Allied forces storming the entire section of the beach to take it from opposing forces back in June 1944. Of course nowadays it’s a place where many come to visit and veterans come to pay tribute to fallen comrades.

We walked to the center of Omaha Beach to see our first stop: the monument Les Braves. The memorial commemorates the lives of fallen American soldiers.

It was a chilly spring day when we visited but nonetheless, there were many tourists who arrived in large coaches and in tour groups to visit the monument.

Les Braves
Taking a closer look
Posing next to a few of the allied flags

We spent some time in the area and talked to a few fellow tourists including an American family who came with an older gentleman who happened to be a veteran from the Normandy invasion. They came all the way from the states to see the site. According to the family, the man had actually been to Omaha Beach during the invasion and fought alongside his comrades.

 

Danny speaking with the family of a veteran. I am soaking up the sand
It was pleasant and cool during the spring in Normandy
The Omaha Monument to the Allies, a monument to the allied forces that landed on Omaha Beach
Taking it all in
Being tourists
Posing in front of Les Braves Monument
Taking a moment to reflect
Allied Flags
A close-up of the Allies Monument
A bright and sunny day which brought out many tourists
Another look at the monument

We drove around Normandy in search of more WWII historical sites. Take a look below!

As we roamed around we found that the town is indeed a wondrous place for any WWII history fan as there was no shortage of museums, decommissioned tanks, or military weaponry to be found everywhere you looked. Even hotels and restaurants had a military theme to them.

 

Lt. Rocky reporting for Duty (Utah Beach)
Rocky, a tank and all the way in the back, an RV
Breathing in the fresh gunpowder smell
‘I wanna go in the tank!’
Tanks for the photo!

 

Imagine if I traveled with this behemoth!
Checking out the town

Another point of interest was the Pointe du Hoc Monument which stands on a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach. The site is still filled with large bomb craters.

Magnificent cliffs!
Look out! There’s some bomb craters there!
What a sight to behold!
Military bunker

Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument

 

Utah Beach

Later in the afternoon we drove over to Utah Beach to take a look at some more monuments and visit the museum

Posing by the US Navy Monument. The only monument dedicated to the US Navy outside of the US
Silhouette
Higgins Boat Monument: A monument dedicated to Marines climbing off a landing craft on D-Day
I’ll take it from here
Saving Private Rocky
Don’t worry, I’ve used this before! One time during practice!
Closer look at the Higgins boat

Well what an eye-opening and memorable experience. My human went on to visit the Normandy American Cemetery. Of course I wasn’t allowed in and he didn’t take any photos either. But overall we thoroughly enjoyed visiting this tremendous site which served as a history lesson as well.

Bonjour Mes Amis!

If you’re ever in north of France, check out all the monuments there! You’ll enjoy it!

As for me, I’m staying in the north for a bit and I’m going to explore Cherbourg and Mont St. Michel! See you guys soon!

On the road again!

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