Sunday 8 June 2014

Lest we forget..............................

Last Friday, 6th June, the whole of Normandy celebrated the 70th Anniversary of the D Day landings.
You may have seen coverage of the celebrations on the TV news or in the newspapers.
Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles & the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, David Cameron, President Hollande and many other Heads of State from around the world attended the commemoration services.


Locally, celebrations were more low key with flowers being laid at several memorial sites such as this one in the village of Saint Clair sur Elle, the village next to ours.

The 29th Infantry Division Historical Society website tell us the story of these brave men.

The 29th Infantry Division trained in Scotland and England for the cross channel invasion, October 1942-June 1944. Teamed with the 1st Division, a regiment of the 29th Division (116th Infantry) was in the first assault wave to hit the beaches at Normandy on D-day, 6 June 1944. Landing on Omaha Beach on the same day in the face of intense enemy fire, the Division soon secured the bluff tops and occupied Isigny, 9 June.
The Division cut across the Elle River and advanced slowly toward St. Lo, fighting bitterly in the Normandy hedge rows. After taking St. Lo, 18 July 1944, the Division joined in the battle for Vire, capturing that strongly held city, 7 August.

Some personal tributes.....................






"This memorial is dedicated to the soldiers of the U.S. 29th Infantry Division.
It was constructed by personal initiative with the help of local volunteers who wished to express their gratitude to their liberators.
To those who pass, contribute to this work by never forgetting."


Mur du souvenir




Mother nature remembers them too as these bright red poppies,
 growing amongst the wheat,
in our neighbors field testifies.


9 comments:

  1. Maggie, I know it was a lovely and very moving event. Thanks for sharing these beautiful images. All the world must never forget the sacrifices made by all the brave men and women who fought for our freedoms.

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  2. I thought of you this week (all week, actually) as I watched documentaries about the war and D-Day and remembered my visit to the American Cemetery and the beaches. Very moving. I was hoping you would post about this -- thank you. That area was so damaged by the war. How COULD one forget -- but we should never, ever forget.

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  3. What a great place of sacrifice and historical significance. It must have been wonderful to be a small part of the celebration. Thank you for the photos-- I've long wanted to visit there.

    Love
    Vicki

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  4. How special. What a wonderful post.

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  5. We watched the services on the BBC but were shocked at the small amount of coverage in US news. Seeing the soldiers still living who made the journey was so moving.

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  6. Wonderful coverage from the BBC on Friday and its so nice to find small villages around Normandy who still honour these men today.
    Makes me very sad when you see the ages of these young menu most of them just boys.

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  7. We had wonderful programs here all week on CBC - and some survivors of Juno Beach were still alive to attend the ceremonies. My grandfather survived Juno - a medical officer in the Canadian Army. He never, ever spoke of it.

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  8. The commemoration events were broadcast here in Canada - it behooves us well to remember. As a young college student I spent one summer in French-speaking Belgium. On my sweatshirt I had a little Canadian flag. People would approach me and tell me how much they appreciated the sacrifice and help of my countrymen during the war. This was in the 1970s. That experience made it all seem very close. I've never forgotten.

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  9. Maggie, this is a wonderful post.

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Thanks for stopping by, your visit just made my day!