(Dale, our guide, orienting John, Alexa & Ben at La Fiere)
John here expanding on Michelle's account of our day.
I'll first reiterate what she had to say about our private tour through Battlebus and our guide, Dale. Like me, Dale is a 40-something ex-serviceman, from the British Army in his case. He is a fabulous raconteur and kept all four of us spellbound despite the differences in how much we all knew about the battles described. Battlebus consistently gets glowing recommendations on independent sites like Trip Advisor and Lonely Planet, and it's easy to see why. Dale also connected very well with the kids and Ben really seemed to take a shine to him. We had a number of far-ranging discussions on some of the longer legs of our journey.
Bottom line: don't do some canned tour with a bus full of 40 other people, book a tour with these folks. It's worth every cent (American or otherwise).
I won't take everyone blow-by-blow through our day, but here's the list of the various stops during our journey - some just for a picture or two, but most for at least one personal story about the men who fought at or near that very spot, or the French civilians affected by the fighting:
- Angoville-au-Plain
- St. Mere Eglise
- US Airborne Museum
- Neuville-au-Plain
- La Fiere
- Coquiny (drive-through)
- Hill 30 (Shanley's Hill) (driving over and across)
- Chef-du-Pont
- Beauzille-de-Bastille (The bridge Dale & I believe Pam's dad was assigned to blow)
- Dead Man's Corner
- Causeway #2 behind Utah Beach
- Utah Beach (Jahnke's Resistance Point)
- Brecourt Manor (featured in "Band of Brothers")
- Bocage Country (for an explanation of what it was, and how the Allies coped)
- Grainges
Yes, that's a lot of stops! We left Bayeux at 8:30 AM and were largely on the go until we arrived back around 5:30 PM. Dale also knew the best places to get lunch - they normally stop at a bed & breakfast that serves sandwiches that looked very tasty from the menu, but due to circumstances we wound up eating at an excellent beach-food stand just behind the dunes at Utah Beach.
We heard stories of incredible heroism (American, German and French), atrocities (some small American ones and a truly horrific German one), and many about men under fire simply coping as best they could in difficult circumstances. Dale also told us about an incredible reunion in 2004 between two American paratroopers, best buddies, both wounded within days of each other and each thinking the other dead for 60 years - and each blaming themselves for the other's supposed death.
We also learned something that I'm going to be sure to repeat at home: the local French people donate the land for these monuments, pay for many of the monuments, maintain them largely at their own expense, and decorate many with fresh flowers. There's nowhere near the tacky commercialism you'd expect to find near sites like this in the US, if any existed. Most of these people lost their homes, and many lost one or more family members, often from Allied fire - but they still regard the Americans and British as peoples very highly. (Our government, not so much, but we hardly blame them.) They know full well the price paid for their freedom, and express their gratitude for it.
It was simply incredible to see so many places I'd read about, and in some cases fought over in my wargaming, and to stand yards away from places where such acts of desperation and courage occurred. As a former paratrooper and lifelong military history buff, I've always felt a connection with those who fought here. Like Michelle at the Orsay & Orangerie, I'm seeing things I've always wanted to but never thought I would. To be able to share them and the lessons they teach with my family is something I feel incredibly fortunate for.
PS - Mom, Michelle says you should have Dad read this post, if nothing else. ;)
PPS - All Americans - the US 82nd Airborne Division; Screaming Eagles - the US 101st Airborne Division; Ivy - the US 4th Infantry Division, whose unit patch resembles an ivy branch.
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