Freedom Is Not Free

I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, "Mother, what was war?" ~Eve Merriam

Early this morning we drove from Rouen to Paris to pick up Shari and Patrick from the Orly airport. It was wonderful to see them, and they were surprisingly chipper and alert after a long flight from Denver, Colorado. On our way back to Cherbourg we stopped by the American cemetery at Omaha beach. It was on this beach that American casualties were the highest on D-Day. It is the largest American WWII cemetery.

9,387 fathers and brothers (thirty-three pairs buried side by side) and four women are buried here. It is a very sober but peaceful place, where the gravity of war hits home. This bronze statue is the center of the Memorial: "The Sprit of American Youth Rising From The Waves."




On June 6th, the 63rd anniversary of D-Day, Daniel received some moving e-mails from people that work at his site. They expressed their appreciation for what American (and other) servicemen did that day, and showed that they have not forgotten the devastating but important sacrifices of WWII.

In Flanders fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
~John McCrae

Rouen

Two weeks after I arrived, we drove to Paris on a Friday morning for my medical visit, part of the requirements for living in France. We were in a hurry as we left that morning, so we didn’t have time to fix and eat breakfast. That reminded me of another time when we were in a hurry, when we decided to grab a pastry in town on our way out. We went to the local patisserie in nearby Beaumont-Hague, where Daniel got his favorite “pan chocolate” and I got a pastry with some raisins. Then we realized we needed something to drink, and since it was a cold morning we thought a coffee would be nice. We were still in a hurry, and so we stopped in a nearby café. Daniel knew better, but thought it would be worth a shot to see if we could get a coffee “to go.” He asked in perfect French, but the woman at the counter looked at him like he was crazy. She asked someone else, but neither of them could begin to understand why we would want to take their porcelain cups with us. They didn’t get the concept, even after Daniel explained that it would need to be a disposable cup. I don’t think the French in general can understand why anyone wouldn’t have at least the time to sit down and have a cup of coffee. I have yet to see anyone eating or drinking in their car here… That is just unfathomable.

After my medical visit in Bagnolet, we drove to Rouen, a beautiful medieval city, the historical capital of Normandy, most known for its cathedral and for being the sight of Joan of Arc's trial and execution by burning at the stake. We spent the evening in the old part of the city, enjoying the beautiful cathedral (Notre Dame, painted multiple times by Monet), old architecture in the center of town, boutique stores, and a restaurant that seemed to attract English people. Afterwards, we drove outside of Rouen to the home of a nice family named the Boyers, for the rest of the weekend, where Daniel learned to play the accordion. :)

Around the house

Some of our viewers have requested to see our house. It seems like it is often changing, as we put it all together little by little. We sold so much when we left Augusta, and then there was so little here in the house when we got here (i.e. appliances, light fixtures, kitchen cabinets), that it still is a work in progress. So here are a few glimpses of life as we settle in... the view out of our kitchen window, showing off my lemon tree after a trip to JardiLand (rough translation: GardenLand), and Daniel's sheer joy in getting another grill.

Walk on the Beach

While we enjoy living on waterfront property (something that is much harder to come by in the United States), the weather does not allow for your sunny Florida coast walk on the beach in May. It will warm up soon, but on this day it was chilly, foggy, and very, very windy.

The beach, just a short walk from our doorstep, consists of a few yards of pretty smooth pebbles leading to a wide expanse of sand, especially at low tide. It is packed and very easy to walk on. In this picture you can see Le Fort Vauville behind me, built during the Seven Year War (1756-1763). You can see an even better picture of the structure, and a nearby gun turret used during the war, on Google Earth.

Between the beach and the fields behind the houses of Vauville, there is a picturesque hiking trail from which you can see the town, the fields, the farm animals, and the beach, all from the same spot. The Cap La Hague is known for its hiking trails and beautiful views.

The Norman cows (typified by their distinctive patches of color over their eyes) are curious types, but not extremely friendly (yet). Daniel enjoys playing with both the cows and the sea life on the beach. :)

Vauville Home

After just a few days, Vauville is already beginning to feel like home. We love to catch the sunset over the Channel from the third floor terrace. You can see from the picture that a series of fields separate the town of Vauville from the water. They are separated by low stone walls. Cows, horses, and sheep happily graze these fields and entertain us with their daily habits.

Here we are enjoying the view of the countryside at sunset before heading out for a Caribbean dinner and salsa dancing at the Tam-Tam Cafe in downtown Cherbourg.

Sainte-Mere-Eglise

On our way back home from Utah Beach, we stopped at the little town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise. This town was one of the first to be liberated in the invasion of D-Day. A brief story from wikipedia.com:

“The early landings, at about 0140 directly on the town, resulted in heavy casualties for the paratroopers. Some buildings in town were on fire that night, and they illuminated the sky, making easy targets of the descending men. Some were sucked into the fire. Many hanging from trees and utility poles were shot before they could cut loose. The German defenders were alerted.

A famous incident involved paratrooper John Steele, whose parachute caught on the spire of the town church, and could only observe the fighting going on below. He was later captured by a German soldier. The incident was portrayed in the movie The Longest Day. Later that morning, about 0500, a force led by Lt. Colonel Edward C. Krause of the 505th PIR took the town with little resistance. Apparently the German garrison was confused and had retired for the rest of the night. However, heavy German counterattacks began later in the day and into the next. The lightly-armed troopers held the town, until reinforced by tanks from nearby Utah Beach in the afternoon of June 7.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainte-M%C3%A8re-%C3%89glise

Utah Beach Landing Museum

After walking around town we went to the Utah Beach Landing Museum, which is set up at the site of the U.S. landing of June 6th. There we saw a scale model of the German defenses, amphibious vehicles, weapons, photographs, maps, and WW2 American and German artifacts and read the stories of what happened that on this spot on that critical day. We learned that the outcome at Utah beach was significantly different from that of Omaha beach, because here there were fewer German fortifications, more effective air raids and air support before the invasion, better landings of tanks, and the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions of paratroopers had landed 5 hours prior to the beach landings, which confused and helped clear out the German defenses. This resulted in much heavier airborne casualties than those on the landing beach.

It was at Utah Beach that American divisions landed and pushed inland to meet up with US airborne forces around St. Mere Eglise. We read a plaque that explained that between D-Day and November 1st of 1944 836,000 men and 220,000 vehicles came ashore here.

A plaque from the society Le Souvenir Francais reads:
to the memory of the valiant soldiers of the United States
fallen for the liberation of France
June 6 1944

June 6, 1944

On May 1st we drove less than an hour from Vauville to the charming town of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. A woman that works at Daniel’s site, Christine Bertot, had invited us over to see the town and nearby museum at Utah Beach. Since neither of us had met her we were particularly struck by her generosity of taking a day to introduce us to the special area that is rich in history of D-Day.

In the center of the town square is a towering church (11th century), which we learned changed hands multiple times over the course of the night of June 6th.

All around the square are little signs that tell the personal stories in amazing detail of what happened the night the town was liberated from the Germans.

With the memorials and museums, you begin to realize that what happened 60+ years ago seems forever carved into the identity of the place and the people.It was like stepping back in time, because there is so much that is preserved and the town looks much the same as it did many years ago.