Normandy, France

Before visiting the D-Day sights, we watched the classic war flick, "The Longest Day." So, of course, we had to make a pilgrimage to the locations of three critical events on June 6 that were highlighted in the film: Pegasus Bridge, where British gliders landed with amazing accuracy, enabling soldiers to secure the bridge for Allied advance; St. Mere Eglise, where the American paratrooper got his parachute stuck on the steeple, leaving him exposed to enemy gunfire; and Point de Hoc, where Army Rangers scaled the cliffs to take out dangerous German batteries.

 

Pegasus Bridge:

 

St. Mere Eglise:

 

Point du Hoc:


 

 

Point du Hoc is full of craters left by heavy Naval bombing: