I toured the Gettysburg battlefield a couple of years ago and got pretty choked up at times. I can't imagine how I would feel if I went to the Normandy cemetery.
Normandy is a breathtaking place for several reasons. The magnitude of energy expended is beyond believe. Fields above cliffs are overed with wild flowers and red poppies are prevalent. As I walked the beaches, I looked at cliffs and did take one souvenier. A blue green anodixed piece of structural ribbing. I know it was from glider which glided in full of troops and just failed to clear the cliffs. The twisted metal talls the story of the end of those trained personel. It is way beyond being able to cry about the depth of the disaster and the depth of the required effort to succeed in restoring freedom. I had parked brand new 190SL I picked up in Denmark to be able to spend the time on the beaches in 1960. So many years after the landing. I took my preinduction physical in 1956 since I had a 2s science deferment all through grad school. I was 1A for two days before becoming 4F by a misjudgement while incarcerated on fellows island in NY harbor. One of my closest freinds (a vietnam vet with PTSD) just died slowly of ALS. He helped other vets till the day he died. He flew to vietnam the day it reopened and appologized to the uncle of a child he killed with a 60MM mortar. The uncle did ot know personally he was the killer. I walked each step of the way from the radio room to the copter pad in the US headquarters in veitnam. After that war, the adjuct marine (Annapolis grad) assigned to the commander of the pacific fleet was assigned to me at EOP long with a six marine protective unit at EOP. They functioned as a liaison crew between EOP and congress. Sending messages by courier from the WH to congress was done by USMC full dress couriers at that time. It made the legislators pay attention and got important policy statememts out og EOP across. My first moments where I live now began by playing a round of golf with AF1 pilot when we had some time off in Tucson where we were with POTUS on the road. Afew months back the Mephis Belle dropped in on a windy day. I got to take a three point ride as a coustesy since I desinged the runway and hanger on Mud Island (See my book "Mud Island Study") in Mississiippi just off Memhis and under IS40 bridge. I lost my 100 annivesery baseball cap form Hershey Foods on that flight it pop out of midsection gunner overhed postal. We owe a lot to vets. we will never be able to repay them. I have been doing PTSD workaround to replace the VA hospitals for over 7 years now. At least people are getting the picure of how the chain of command and the mental repair system are totally at odds. the secondary PTSD of vets families is unfucking unbelievable. Help any vet family you run into anywheres. If you want to trade profitably and commit to help vets get in touch with me. I can empower you wherever you are.
Yes, the beaches are a surreal experience, well worth it... And the American cemetery is something else altogether. And, on a different note, Agincourt isn't very far from there either...
I think you might be looking at the wrong Agincourt on the map. The proper French name for the place is Azincourt. It's a bit closer than Bastogne and Agincourt. Not that there's anything really to see there, tbh, but still...
Living in US during wartime does do engender the feeling of being at war. as scientist a person in Us goe through getting security cleasances and sees the consequences of others violating such. I was living in Switzerland during the 6 days war between Isreal and Egypt... For whatever reasons I did not have to file my passport at the local police HQTRS. But the borders were slammed shut and no travel for the "duration". More stringent was the food supply. I stores were closed immediately and a 100% bombshelter inspection was begun. My ski boots were in the empty potato bin.
The world's top leaders recently commemorated the D Day landings in situ. Most were surprised , even Putin turned up !! Such a waste of young lives