25.1 F
Naperville
Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Transitions – Normandy and D-Day 80 years later

-

We visited Normandy four days before the 80th anniversary of D-Day where the U.S. and its Allies landed at five beaches, the largest amphibious invasion in history. It was the first step in ejecting the Nazis from the continent. I knew the story, but it wasn’t until I met my father-in-law, who lost his right foot in Germany, did I truly realize its human impact. 

American troops experienced heavy losses at Omaha and Utah beaches, and Pointe du Hoc – a German bunker atop the cliff they scaled, under fire. Of the 4,400 men killed on D-Day, 2,500 were Americans; the rest were troops from 10 other nations and French and British colonies. The American cemetery at Normandy is the final resting place of more than 9,300 American GIs who died during the landings and ensuing battles.

Unlike most Americans, the French remember it well even now. They suffered under four years of Nazi rule. At liberation, they also suffered from Allied bombardment, but everywhere we went, we received a joyous welcome amid American, British, and French flags and village banners that proclaimed, “Welcome Allies.”
The experience was poignant and tearful for us.

”The Longest Day,” a 1962 American docu-drama war film about the D-Day landings, is mainly factual stories of the Allies, French civilians, and Germans. This movie, along with “Saving Private Ryan” and “Band of Brothers,” visually portrays the carnage of those fateful days and the persistence and focus of the Allies. 

I returned from this experience with a greater appreciation for American sacrifice and service. Those troops gave their lives for others’ freedom without asking for a return.

After the war, our nation passed the Marshall Plan to help the Allies and the Germans rebuild, and our boys built the country we live in today. We gave because once tyranny gains a foothold, it is a bloody business to stop it.

- Advertisement -
Barbara Blomquist
Barbara Blomquist
Barbara Blomquist is a Naperville resident, wife, mother, quilter, and screenwriter. Contact her at BWBLomquist@aol.com.
spot_img

LATEST NEWS