Tag Archives: Normandy Invasion

D-Day — Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial


All this week I’ll be rerunning my six-part series on the D-Day Invasion of Normandy, France. Next week I’ll return you to our Baltic trip and beyond. In the meantime, in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Operation Neptune (the Normandy landings) and Operation Overlord (the Battle of Normandy) in the event we now collectively refer to as D-Day:

Map of the D-Day Normandy Invasion

The map depicted above overlooks Omaha Beach. Behind that map lies the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.

Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

This military cemetery is a territorial concession granted by France to the United States, so this ground is fully administered and maintained by the U.S. government.

Some of the 1,557 names of unrecovered or missing U.S. servicemen from D-Day

There are 9,387 graves here, of which 307 contain the remains of unknown persons. All but one of those interred lost their lives during WWII. The exception is a grave from a lone casualty from WWI. Quentin Roosevelt, who was reinterred next to his brother Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.

Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

The memorial and reflection pond face east toward the closest point of the United States, between Lubec and Eastport in Maine.

The Memorial faces east toward the U.S.

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Filed under Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel

D-Day — Pointe du Hoc


All this week I’ll be rerunning my six-part series on the D-Day Invasion of Normandy, France. Next week I’ll return you to our Baltic trip and beyond. In the meantime, in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Operation Neptune (the Normandy landings) and Operation Overlord (the Battle of Normandy) in the event we now collectively refer to as D-Day:

100-foot/30-meter cliffs of Pointe du Hoc

On D-Day, June 6, 1944, the U.S. Army Ranger Assault Group landed at Pointe du Hoc. Their unenviable mission was to scale the 100-foot/30-meter cliffs and take out German 155mm gun emplacements that endangered the ships that would soon stream toward Omaha Beach directly east and Utah Beach to the west. It turned out to be a bloody exercise in futility, as those 155mm guns were not even there.

German bunker overlooking Pointe du Hoc

The Rangers were sitting ducks, and in the end only 90 survived out of the 225 men who landed there.

Memorial to the U.S. Army Ranger Assault Group

More photos of Pointe du Hoc:

Pointe du Hoc

Provisional Engineer Special Brigade Group

German bunker entrance

German bunker

Memorial to the 2nd Infantry Division

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Filed under Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel

D-Day — Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial


 

Map of the D-Day Normandy Invasion

The map depicted above overlooks Omaha Beach. Behind that map lies the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.

Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

a territorial concession granted by France to the United States, so this ground is fully administered and maintained by the U.S. government.

Some of the 1,557 names of unrecovered or missing U.S. servicemen from D-Day

There are 9,387 graves here, of which 307 contain the remains of unknown persons. All but one of those interred lost their lives during WWII. The exception is a grave from a lone casualty from WWI. Quentin Roosevelt, who was reinterred next to his brother Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.

Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

The memorial and reflection pond face east toward the closest point of the United States, between Lubec and Eastport in Maine.

The Memorial faces east toward the U.S.

Comments Off on D-Day — Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

Filed under Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel