On the Beaches of Normandy

The sun came up, it was a new day dawning and we began it with honoring our fallen soldiers in song.  Over 2000 Canadian soldiers who fell on D-Day and the weeks following are buried at the Canadian war cemetery near Beny Sur Mer, France.  We then sang "In Christ Alone" and heard a D-Day devotional from Nicole Hamstra which was followed by the singing of "O Canada".  From there, we took a short bus ride to Juno Beach where we received a guided tour of the German observation and command bunkers.  After that we had an opportunity to peruse the Juno Beach Center Museum exhibits which finished with an evocative video about the soldiers who fought on the D-Day beaches.

We stopped for a group photo on the bluffs overlooking Gold Beach.  What an amazing view of the Mulberry Harbour!  Many of us then enjoyed a seafood lunch in the coastal town of Arromanches.  Although we have seen many cemeteries up to this point, Colleville was the first American cemetery we visited.  You may recognize the rows of white crosses from the opening scene of "Saving Private Ryan".  We had another opportunity for a group photo at a memorial erected on Omaha Beach.  Pointe du Hoc, a crater-filled field above the cliff between the Omaha and Utah beaches, wowed us with its historical significance and exceptional view.  We enjoyed running through the potentially dangerous craters and exploring the ruins of German bunkers.  Then it was back to Trouville for dinner and the final night at our hotel in Deauville.  Il était une journée exceptionelle!