My entry for Becky’s July Square Blues today was taken at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France.
This is the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Normandy, which lasted 100 days. But it all started on D-Day, July 6, 1944, when the secret organized invasion of northern France via the beaches of Normandy took place, orchestrated and led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Thousands of troops waded ashore, parachuted from the sky, arrived in warships, tanks, etc., facing fierce resistance from the Germans in the form of a sea wall, hazards placed on the beaches, mines scattered along the landing area, and German tank guns. These flags represent the participating nations in that operation, though the three most important Allied forces on D-Day were Canada, Britain and the United States.
were you there on the Dday anniversary?
No, but only about two weeks later. The celebration goes on, just not as much fanfare. There were lots of small crosses with flowers that apparently were given out to people to place wherever they wanted, because we saw them at just about all the memorials. Little British, Canadian and American flags had been affixed to the doorways of houses, and there were banners with faces of men who had fought and died, which were captioned “WWII Hero.”
I am sort of glad we were not there on D-Day itself because the crowds were even worse than when we were there and also Trump was there, which would have disgusted and shamed me.