Day 6 started off with a short visit to Great Grandpa Kelly to say good by. It was a nice sunny morning and a perfect way to start the day. As we were leaving, I did photograph one more headstone with a story. Sadly, this soldier died and was buried in Le Havre, France two months after the end of the war. It seems tragic that he didn't make it back, one way or the other.
We then hit the road as we needed to get to Cherbourg later that afternoon, and I really wanted to see Juno Beach first. As everyone likely knows, D-Day (Operation Overlord) took place in Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. There were 5 different beach heads, with the British taking Sword and Gold Beaches, the Canadians taking Juno Beach and the Americans taking Omaha and Utah Beaches. We thought that it would be a shame to drive by Juno Beach without stopping - so we did. We have no personal attachment to this battle, but wanted to see where it happened, and honour those who fought in it. We took several pictures along the beach and at "Canada House". We also took a picture of an old German bunker on the beach. Now THAT was some concrete work! I was initially disappointed that there was no Juno Beach Centre, similar to what we saw at Vimy. It turns out that such a facility does exist - we just missed it. Nuts!
After leaving Juno beach, we were back on the road to Cherbourg. Taking the back roads, it was like driving the movie set for Saving Private Ryan. As I explained the battle to Sara, we thought - what the hell - lets visit Omaha Beach too. We got a little turned around, and then surprisingly amongst a whole lot of farmland in every direction - we saw a Canadian flag. We thought it would be a plaque, or small Memorial. Boy were we wrong. It turns out that we stumbled across the Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian Cemetery. The WWI cemeteries that we had visited this week were always a mixture of allied countries, but this WWII cemetery was almost exclusively Canadian. We saw row upon painful row of Canadian kids. Over 2000 Canadian headstones. Poor Sara finally broke down after a long week. Too much sacrifice and sadness for one holiday I think. Certainly for Sara and myself, Remembrance Day will never be the same. Sara took the panoramic picture below.
We spent a little time at Omaha beach, which rightfully had a strong American presence. Leaving, we saw a sign for the "Operation Overlord Museum". I was not quite sure what to expect, but had hoped that it would truly represent the contributions of the French, Americans, British and Canadians. It did not disappoint. It was an amazing museum that actually spoke to the efforts and accomplishments of all of the participants that day (including the Germans) in a way that spared us the one-sided propaganda often seen at these places. I would recommend this museum to anyone that ever visits the Normandy area.
Once we got to Cherbourg, we said goodbye to Andre and marched off to the ferry terminal for our 17 hour voyage to Ireland. Though we loved France, and will never forget what we saw and learned, it has not been relaxing. It has been a very emotional and sombre week. Now we were looking ahead to a five day vacation in Ireland! We loaded the ferry with a large group of high school students from Australia. A boys rugby team and a girls field hockey team. 85 people. I just stood back and smiled. As Sara and I easily navigated the customs area, I tried to identify the pain-in-the-a** parent chaperone that is on every trip. The female field hockey goalie was WAAAAAY to easy to pick out.
The ferry trip started off great. A huge boat (not as big as our Finland Ferry), but big enough with six restaurants, two movie theatres and a shop. I should have clued in when I noticed that every cabin and every public common area had barf-bags in shelving on the walls. Holy crap did we get tossed around in a storm off the southern tip of Wales. I'll readily admit that it is a matter of perspective, and I'm a prairie boy - but this was 100 times more than anything I'd experienced on the Baltic. This huge ship would ride a wave and go crashing down to meet the next one. I wasn't worried that we'd survive, that was fine - I was however worried if I'd ever want to eat again. After about 0700hrs, the room was just rocking gently. I like that better. Sara put it best this morning when she said, "I'd rather be on a gravel road going anywhere than a ship going somewhere". Amen! One final thought on the voyage. Between 0500 and 0600, all that I could think about was Lee Caine's father who, also being a prairie boy, enlisted in the Canadian Navy and served in the North Atlantic during WWII. We are definitely having a rum for him when I return (after my stomach settles).
Things that I learned today.
1. The French are very nice people. They are portrayed as, and I was expecting, rudeness. We did not meet a single rude person. They were all very friendly, and helpful.
2. Gravol is for wimps. Sara and I now own bracelets. Styling......
3. So a drunk Irishman walks up to the bar and wants to fight the French waitress.... Sara is seeing and learning lots this week. (I think he is still in the Cherbourg drunk tank and probably not enjoying life).
4. As exhausting as this past week has been for us, I'd encourage everyone to visit France and the Canadian WWI and WWII sites. We missed many (Ypres, Passchendaele, Dieppe, etc) but certainly have a whole new perspective.
5. Australian high school boys are just as geeky and dorky as Canadian boys. OK - worse.
Thanks for the update. Sounds like quite the boat ride for a couple of prairie folk. xoxo
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