Traveling through the peaceful greenery of Normandy, it is hard to imagine a land once ravaged by WW II.

The rolling hills are dotted with flashes of white from the speckled Normande cows, famous for their cheese and butter; the statuesque stone church steeples in each town offer a comforting skyline; and the tiny winding roads are edged with towering hedges that once served to divide the farmers’ plots of land.

However, the memory of WW II is ever-present. The church steeples were observation towers and sniper posts. The hedgerows hid machine guns and mines. The fields were intentionally flooded by the Germans to make access more difficult for Allied forces.

It is impossible to escape the past—especially this year—the 75^thanniversary of the D-Day landings and Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of Normandy was the largest amphibious assault in history (five infantry divisions and three airborne divisions).

More than 150,000 soldiers from the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Canada stormed the beaches on June 6, 1944, supported by nearly 7,000 vessels (from battleships to landing barges) and 12,000 aircraft. It was a day that changed the world—a turning point in WW II.

In almost every town, there are reminders of the value of liberty and tributes to those who sacrificed in the name of freedom—from abandoned bunkers to memorial statues, from bomb craters to endless rows of grave markers, from bullet holes to beaches that will be called by their code names forever— Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.

With stories of courage, films and photographs that bring war horrors vividly to life, and the humble words of the dwindling number of WW II veterans who gave so selflessly in combat, the memory of the Normandy landings lives on.

It is the sadness that comes with such sacrifice that inspired my travel mission—a pilgrimage to pay tribute to that important time in history.

Oh I See: Five Stories to Remember

I traveled from Bayeux to Sainte-Marie-du-Mont to Sainte-Mère-Eglise to Pointe du Hoc, to the beaches, to Colleville-sur-Mer and the American Cemetery.

I came away with tales of heroism, a better understanding of the detailed military operations and the strategic planning of both German and Allied forces . . . and deeper feelings of grief.

The “Oh, I see” moments were many. Here are five of the most memorable stories.

Operation Fortitude

Fake news was alive and well in WW II. The Allies’ element of surprise for the Normandy invasion was paramount, so they sent fake transmissions to mislead the Germans and carried out bombing raids in the Pas-de-Calais area in the spring of 1944 rather than near the beaches of Normandy. This deception plan was codenamed Operation Fortitude.

In the meantime, the Allies were training on the beaches of south England and preparing the strategies for the June bombing raids, for the paratrooper assaults to take control of the roads and bridges, and for the integrated amphibious landings.

The Paratroopers

“We will accept nothing less than full victory. Good luck. And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.”—General Eisenhower

All the planning in the world couldn’t dictate the weather. The beach landings had to be done at dawn, during a full moon, and at low tide so that the landing barges wouldn’t be damaged by the German obstacles in the water.

Of the three targeted days (June 5, 6, and 7), a storm prohibited June 5. The weather improved, and June 6 was designated by General Eisenhower as D-Day. “OK. Let’s go,” was his command.

The planes dropping paratroopers in the early morning of June 6 were challenged by thick fog and German gunfire. Many of the jumpers landed far from their objectives—some in the fields strategically flooded by the Germans. Their job was to free the roads connecting the beaches, so that the Allied forces could continue their march from the sea, liberating the towns.

The story of Sainte-Mère-Eglise was made famous (with a Hollywood touch of fiction) in the 1962 film “The Longest Day.” Because of the challenges for the paratroopers, several men of the Airborne divisions landed on the town church.

John Steele dangled from the steeple. Kenneth Russell was caught on a gargoyle. A third man, John Ray, landed on the ground by the church and was shot by a German soldier.

The German was about to shoot the hanging paratroopers when John Ray, just before dying, shot the German and saved the lives of Steele and Russell.

Today, a replica of John Steele dangles from the church (albeit on the wrong side).

The paratroopers of the 82^ndand 101^stAirborne divisions suffered significant casualties, but they did overcome the challenges and cleared the roads for the incoming infantry. Sainte-Mère-Eglise was the first French town to be liberated.

The Rangers

To help protect the Allied forces making the beach landings on June 6, six long-range German guns at Pointe du Hoc had to be destroyed. These guns had a range of 20 kilometers and could have easily targeted the Allied ships and barges as they came toward shore.

Constant bombing of Pointe du Hoc prior to the morning of June 6 created a scarred moonscape of craters, but aerial recognizance showed that the guns remained untouched. Their ultimate destruction was a job given to an elite U.S. Ranger Battalion.

The rangers landed on the narrow beach and began to scale the 100-foot cliffs, using ropes and rope ladders. They easily overtook the German garrison at the top, but realized that the guns shown on the aerial images were fake and that the real guns had been moved.

Within a few hours, they found these guns inland, under the cover of an apple orchard, and destroyed them, but also met with German attackers trying to recapture their position.

After 48 hours of heavy fighting, the rangers were finally joined by reinforcements. Of the original 225 rangers, only 90 were still fit for action after the fight.

As President Ronald Reagan said in a 1984 speech at Pointe du Hoc, “These are the champions who helped free a continent, and these are the heroes who helped end a war.”

The Beaches

The Germans had built the “Atlantic Wall”—a coastal defense that stretched 3,000 miles across northern Europe with 12,000 bunkers, 5 million mines, and 300 large caliber guns.

The infantry landing on June 6 knew the battles would be fierce. They had thought that the advance bombers and paratroopers would lessen German resistance. This was true on most of the beaches, but Omaha beach is the story that most remember. The Germans were ready.

The landing barges could not come ashore, so the soldiers had to wade in to the beach, carrying gear weighing 80 to 100 pounds, made even heavier by the soaking seawater.

The first wave of soldiers took the brunt of the German fire. If they weren’t shot in the water, they became completely exposed targets on the long sandy beach, made even longer because of the low tide. No shelter. No protection.

The Germans, positioned on the hills, fired machine guns nonstop. Their targets fell . . . in the sea and in the sand.

Survivors describe the scene as chaos . . . and death to a lot of good men. More than 1,000 soldiers were killed in the first few hours.

“Two sorts of people are going to stay on this beach, those who are dead and those who are going to die. Let’s get the hell out of here!”—Colonel George Taylor

Soon, the destroyers moved in close and began to provide support for the men on the beach as they advanced. A few groups began to gain ground and climb the hills. Miraculously, by midday, the Americans had gained control of the beach.

The Fallen

The D-Day war stories are many. The triumphs and tragedies of the invasion of Normandy are epic.

More than 9,000 U.S. soldiers died in action during the Normandy invasion. They lie in the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer.

The Bayeux War Cemetery honors more than 4,500 Commonwealth troops, as well as soldiers from other countries (including Germans).

The civilian deaths were staggering also, with so much fire power coming from the air.

Traveling to the cemeteries, whether those of Allied forces or German forces, is a reminder of the real cost of war.

“That day as I was coming over in the landing craft, I said a prayer to myself, “If I come through this alive,” I said, “I will never forget the men I leave behind.”—Sergeant Ted Liska (veteran of WW II)

Additional sources for this story: The Timeline Bloody Battlefields video, The Battle for Liberty (PUBLIHEBDOS SAS), and the paratroopers of Sainte-Mère-Eglise.

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