Hi all. Here's a travel piece that fits into an upcoming date - June 6. It might also appear in next week's issue of the Adams-Friendship Times-Reporter.

Memorial Day and D-Day

       The town of Bayeux, France has more than enough historic sights to draw the usual ooh’s and ah’s from Ruthie and me. But we mainly chose it in order to visit the D-Day landing site on the coast of the English Channel. One of the first towns liberated by the allies, Bayeux itself had monuments and plaques on virtually every street thanking the American forces for freeing it from German occupation. Testifying that U.S. troops had fought their way through all of these streets was the name of our hotel, Logis des Remparts - ‘Lodgings with fortified walls’.

Except, we couldn’t find a van-tour to Omaha Beach tomorrow morning that wasn’t already full. Explaining our woes to the young woman attendant at the Tourist Information center, we asked, “Is there a bus we can take?”

She smiled sadly, “There are none on Sunday, but a taxi? Maybe! Try getting one from your hotel and…bon’ chance!” (Good luck!)

Ruthie finally tracked down a cab guy on WIFI. She told him in tongue-tangled French-English, “We’re at #4 Rue…(blibbety-blib!)… Bourbesneur!”

He replied in fairly good English-French, “I know that place exactly! Meet me in front demain! Au-vois!” and hung up.

Left staring at the phone, Ruthie turned to me and laughed, “I think he said he’ll meet us in front tomorrow morning.”

He did and we told him, “Omaha Beach, see-vu-play!”

Introducing himself, David grinned, “Bon, I will get you there vit - vit (fast)!” The highway speed limit was 110 K, roughly our own 70 mph max back home. By going not the least bit slower, we got there in record time and better yet, he stuck around to give helpful suggestions. "Instead of wandering aimlessly, follow the signs and use your brochure. Then you'll see why we also know what a wonderful event this was!” He pointed at the restaurant across the street. “Call me from there later and I'll pick you up!” That said, he zoomed off.

Still early at 8:30 AM, we were the only ones here and all was quiet but for the surf rolling ashore. Stretching a mile or more each way, the beach looked like any other on a summery day, but for the tall monument directly before us. Erected by the French in 2004 to honor the 60^th anniversary of D-Day, the plaque read simply - “The allied forces landed on this shore which they call Omaha Beach…to liberate Europe June 6^th 1944.”

To think we stood right where it all began, literally sent chills down our spines. The same thing happened when our brochure told us those sheer cliffs to our far left were those the American Rangers scaled at such tremendous cost. Turning around, we climbed up atop the high ridge 100 yards in from the water’s edge.

Surprised at how high we were and checking the map, Ruthie exclaimed, “These bluffs are from 100 to 170 feet above the beach! Good grief, the Germans had the very same view of our guys coming ashore!”

I read the sign. “Just at this section they faced 8 artillery pieces and 85 machinegun pits, all of them hidden up here in concrete bunkers!”

Just ahead was an artillery casemate left here for people to go inside. We did and found the heavy gun in there too. Sighting over the barrel, it was aimed down directly at the shoreline which looked only a stone’s throw away.

Returning along the shore, we saw barely above the water a few feet out some pieces of rusted metal. These, as per our brochure, were all that was left of one of the gigantic concrete Mulberry Harbors towed across the Channel after D-Day.

Later seated on a seawall and waiting for our cabbie, we saw a tour bus empty out at the monument, take a few minutes, and then leave. Ruthie nodded, “Dear, I’m glad we took the cab. Oh! And here he comes!”

Getting up, we took a last look at the calm sea so empty of ships and the clean sandy beach with so few people on it – so fittingly peaceful compared to what it had been over 70 years ago. Before joining David, we gave silent thanks to all who came ashore here on that day.