Veteran’s Day is a special day for so many as we remember loved ones how fought so we can live freely. I am always reminded of my great-grandpa. I may not have known him long but the impact he has made on our family is eternal. A little over two years ago, I got the opportunity to go on a trip to France to walk the steps my great-grandpa took back in WW2. I had many amazing experiences studying abroad but this trip was the closest to my heart. A truly special experience that I relived as I reread my blog from the trip! So enjoy!
TWO DAYS IN GREAT-GRANPA’S SHOES: NORMANDY, FRANCE
I grew up hearing and studying what happened in World War 2 but there is nothing quite like seeing the place where it took place. It is even more special when one of those soldiers was your father, grandfather, or great-grandfather.
I was lucky to be on Easter Break when my family planned the trip. I flew from Florence to Paris to meet them at the airport. Them being Roetta, Gary, Grandpa (Martie), Tracey, Tara Jo, Shane, and Clint. We taxied to the train station. Even though it was 17 mile drive it took us 1.5 hours to get there (talk about a traffic jam). Finally at the train station, we boarded and headed on our way to Bayeux, France in the Normandy region.
Once in Bayeux, we checked into the hotel and headed to the Battle of Normandy Museum. We spent a couple hours looking around and I listened to Grandpa, Roetta, and Gary tell stories of what Great-Grandpa’s (R.D. Floyd) account of his time in France during WW2. Great-Grandpa was in the 35th Infantry Division – “Santa Fe Division”. This division was mostly made up of guys from Kansas and Missouri. It was really neat to be able to hear Great-Grandpa’s stories alongside the WW2 battle history.
The next day we were picked up by our private tour guide Edward. Edward is half English, half Irish, and fluent in 4 languages (English, French, German, and Japanese). He was definitely an interesting fellow. He took us to Sainte-Mere-Eglise to see where the paratrooper got caught on the church steeple; which we found out that though he was caught on the church steeple he didn’t actually hang 60 feet in the air. Realistically, he only hung 2-3 feet from the ground. Edward was quite the myth buster on this trip.
Edward then took us to Utah Beach, which was the only one of the five beaches that troops landed on D-Day without heavy losses. Edward says it was least famous because it actually was successful. We then got to see the Normandy American Cemetery. It was where all the men who had fallen on the beaches of Normandy. It was super touching to see just all the lives sacrificed. Edward finally took us to Omaha Beach and said the reason why this beach is the most famous is because of the fact it was almost an American loss. One thing that I really found to be odd/interesting is that almost none of the Allies’ plans actually went as planned.
We ended the day at a French restaurant. The man who owned the restaurant was a very comedic fella. He said if I played a song on the piano that he would give the table a free bottle of wine. So naturally I attempted (attempted being the key word) to play the piano and must have either had enough and felt sorry for me or thought it was worthy enough to earn a free bottle of wine. Either way it worked out for us. The food was excellent and we had creme brûlée for dessert. The owner then brought out some liquor for everyone to try and I think one was one of his own making. It was a fun and delicious dinner.
The next day, Edward picked us up and took on the route that Great-Grandpa’s division would have went when they landed on Omaha Beach. It was awesome to see the place where he was almost 75 years ago. Great-Grandpa talked about getting lost in the hedgerows and we got to see these hedgerows, just how massive they are, and how confusing it would be to maneuver through them. Edward told us that it took a week for Great-Grandpa’s unit to get 3.5 miles because the fighting was so intense. Edward found a local French farmer who allowed us to poke around his farm, showed us some old WW2 ammunition, and showed us an original U.S. Jeep that would have been driven around Normandy during WW2. It was such a neat experience to meet them and listen to them talk about how the war impacted life and farming afterwards in France.
Edward took us to Pointe Du Hoc. Pointe Du Hoc is where the rangers came and blew up as much as they could of the German’s equipment and guns. The land is still covered in 20 feet pits where the U.S. and British Airforce came and bombed the area. This is where Edward ended the tour. He did a fabulous job showing us around and personalizing the tour to what we were most interested in. Edward was a super fun guy that I would highly recommend but he did say that he comes with a warning label: he isn’t politically correct most of the time and will poke fun at you. Which is fine with us because we do that regularly anyways.
I am so thankful to be able to come along on this trip to see the places I have heard stories about. It really makes it that much more real. I realized how real and scary this war was to people living in Europe; it was right on their doorstep! It was an educational and humbling couple of days in Normandy region of France.
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