local guide's day at Normandy Beaches
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Dale Booth our local Normady Guide--retired British Army Infantryman--many of his family served in WWII including particapting in DDay--from 16 years old he served in the British Army--The 2nd Battalion--The Royal Anglian Regiment--2 active Gulf tours--Postings to Germany, United States, Northern Ireland and United KIngdom--
Church of Angoville au Plain and town of Sainte-Mère-Église
The church was the center of the airborne landing and ensuing several days of battle--history guide Dale Booth created the battle images for us that saw US paratrooper John Steele's chute catch on the roof where he hung surrounded by heavy battle for two hours before German Sargeant Rudi Eglish pull him up to captivity--when US counter attacked Steele escaped and survived the war--Eglish was then captured and survived the war--inside the church was taken over as hospital by two 101st Airborn US medics Robert Wright and Kenneth Moore whose heroic efforts in severely chaotic battle conditons delt with massively wounded with very little available medical equipment--triaged and treated 80 US and German sholdiers--they repeatedly entered the battle area
under active fire--retreaved wounded from the battle field for treatment--German patrols entered the church and saw their actions and departed without adverse action-- |
Utah Beach
guide Dale Booth described and illustrated the huge invasion US success at Utah Beach--the German defensive plan: in water to use steels obstacles to rip open the Higgens landing boat--barb wire obstructions protected by mines to blow up troops when stepped on--establish above the beach level over lapping parallel to beach 1200 bullets per minute machine gun fire--some heavier cannons aligned to fire parallel along beach--mortar fire--heavly reinforced protecive bunkers for cannons above beach and inland--top defenses off with allied decison to land at low tide to avoid beach landling boat sinking obsticals which resulted in an incredible 500 yards of open sand under heavy fire that a US invader would have to survive cross with heavy pack--wet--sea sick--terrified!!!!! impossible to imagine today--and also the luck of the actual American landing spot on the beach--plus Roosevelt's leadership--
Guide Dale Booth's "Open Air Museum--Normandy Battlefield:
note: if your interested specifics , then please view videos which cover details on military plans and tactics and luck that took place on Utah Beach on DDay. |
Landing Museum Utah Beach
the museum is a nice coordination of the execution of the many key planning features required for invasion success and featured lots of military hardware--for the Germans a pre invasion massive amount of Allied misleading information complicated and concealed when and where it would take place--resulted in Hitler taking personal control of tanks and holding them back from beaches in belief invasion was a fake--air craft bombing forced General Rommel to pull back uncoved cannons from beaches--the resistance battled German defenders back sides and disrupted suppy routes--basic invasion requirements--1. protect beaches from inland reinforcement with paratroopers and glider troops gaining control of bridges and supply routes--2. control the air over beaches--Luftwaffes high point had 28,000 fighter pilots to protect the homeland--about 1,800 pilots survived the war and didn't affect the invasion --also the homeland blamed them for not stopping the allies bombing raids--Land troops at low tide to avoid beach landing boat defenses but exposed troop to huge distance to protective cover--results were a German success in huge US losses at Omaha Beach with hundred's of yards of open beach to be crossed by invasion troops--Still Omaha was secured within six hours--Utah Beach was a huge US success with many fewer losses than anticipated land quick siezing objectives--
Point Du Hoc
Ponte Du Hoc--the key to victory--for both sides--geographical position dominent for firing along beach and out to shipping--Germans put huge reenforced bunkers around six huge 13 mile range guns--able to hit Utah and Omaha Beaches--bomb craters still seen resulted from 1,500 tons of bombs dropped--still only destroyee small number of bunkers that now are considered gravesites--Germans removed heavy guns away from beach area--200 rangers scaled what the Germans thought were "impassible" cliffs with London fire department ladders and rocket fired grappling hooks with rope-- found the guns gone--follow tire tracks to locate and destroy them--
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Omaha Beach, Normandy, Green Dog Sector
as a whole it was a very important visit for many of us--Omaha Beach for Barbara it was her father and his buddies who were part of the force that crossed this Beach--Barbara celebrated their lives with a flower tossed upon the breakers in memory of each of those US troops who took part in the largest single military operation in history--the DDay beach operations stretched over 54 miles--Omaha Beach was the single German success that for the lasted for six hours until the US secured the Beach--all their planning work weather and elite troops stationed here resulted in on this beach perhaps as few as 2,500 or as many as 4,800 US killed and wounded on DDay--the historic Omaha Beach result was all of the worlds attention on the German's success or the Amerian's limitations--However the days final result was 34,000 Americans landed here on DDay and the Beach was secured within six hours--
over a life time I have moved from pro US military and its operations to a very cautious or anti toward US world wide military its corperate supported and political chosen operations--the following have been factors in this process--a number of tour visits to Jewish cemeteries including Prague and Krakow--Paris deportation monument--Dachau--Auschwitz--Birkeknau--Mauthausen--Flanders Fields--former student born in Japanise internment camp--a second Normandy visit--our family experiences--B-17 30 mission pilot-- B-29 mission photographer killed on Japan raid--father in law a German soldier and only unit surviver on Russian front--my former students experiences from Vietnam on--my limited military experience--my own OCS at Academy--10 years active reserve with no combat--when walking among the American Cemetery grave sites I feel more that their lives were taken rather than they gave them for our country--I cannot imagine the feeling of coming off the ramp of a Higgens landing boat into the withering defenders fire or being dumped with a full kit into deep cold water to try and survive--or a night combat parachute jump--I have talked with many aquaintences who have faced combat from WWII Korea vietnam and the Gulf--how and why and what changes as a result as we have moved on from WWII???--it's still a mystery when we visit a family WWII grave in Golden Gate National Cemetery-- |
Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial to all American troops who lost their lives in Europe during World War II
Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France--located just above DDay landing Omaha Beach
Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France--located just above DDay landing Omaha Beach
Over looking D Day Normandy Omaha Beach--the final resting place of 9,387 World War II American's and memorial wall to 1,157 missing or not identified who were involved in the D Day landings or following actions--about 25,000 Americans lost their lives in the battle for Normandy--All USA military who died in the European actions are Honored in the memorial Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France--thank you for the privilege of visiting
Taps days end ceremony
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Cemetery
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