Today, as many around the world prepare to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the landings, pictures of tourists soaking up the sun on Normandy's beaches stand in stark contrast to images taken around the time of the invasion.
Reuters photographer Chris Helgren compiled archive pictures taken during the invasion and went back to the same places to photograph them as they appear today.
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I went to Normandie in 1998 to visit a friend from America who was working there. Very beautiful (great fish and mussels), and the people were friendly to Americans. It's a place that can only be imagined until you see it for real - then the nausea sets in over the blood that was spilled for yet another alleged 'higher purpose.'
ReplyDeleteNever been to Europe, but have overdone the far east with about 11 trips.
DeleteMy Grandpa was there. All he every said about it was the" Germans were awfully pissed and it was noisy as hell". He later joined the armored company driving then commanding a Sherman untill the Battle of the Bulge when he ended up infantry again. He left a kidney and part of his hip somewhere in France. After the war ended he spent another year chasing Nazi holdouts in the Alps and gathering up weapons.
ReplyDeleteWhen they sent him home he landed on the east coast and went to catch his train home and a man was hiring workers to build pipe line through Ohio so he got hired and built pipe line for 2 more years and got married before he made it back home.
After the war ended he spent another year chasing Nazi holdouts in the Alps and gathering up weapons.
DeleteThat is interesting. Do you have more on this?
All he ever told me was that he spent time in several villages helping gather weapons and sending them off to be destroyed. He said sometimes they would get a tip to where to find a Nazi officer hiding and they would go in and grab them and give them to the MPs He told me the Nazis had left hidden supplies for a resistance and him and his group destroyed them.
DeleteHe used to tell me about the little villages he would go to and how they had no meat because it had been taken for the war. So him and a buddy from Texas would toss the captured grenades into lakes and such then have the kids swim around and gather up the fish. He said they only got in trouble once and that was because the were using captured German machine guns to thin out the local deer herds. But once they learned the meat was going to hungry people they let him off with a warning and made him promise not to use the machine guns any more. So him and Tex switched to Mauser rifles and flash lights.
My favorite story he told me was when they caught a really short Nazi officer. The hit a cabin where they were told to look but couldn't find him so grandpa was looking around and say the coat rack move. He said it was covered in coats so he shot the top off with the Model 12 he carried and a little guy fell out the bottom and surrendered. They made him a Lieutenant for that. It was his second time being an officer he got busted down once already before the Battle of the Bulge.
Wonderful stories.Thanks.
DeleteSorry I typed so much just wanted to share gramps story
ReplyDeleteNot at all and I am very pleased when I can post such. If you have more, I would love to reveal it all. Thanks.
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