Today we visited the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Omaha Beach and I left with a ton of photos. I will post a bunch tomorrow, but it’s almost midnight here, and I’m spent.
I’ll just say we had a lovely day. But even thinking about war makes me over-the-top emotional, so it was sort of an intense day.
I saw the faces of so many 20-year-olds who lived only 70 years ago. So many men…barely men, kids really…to whom our world is extremely thankful. But honestly, I don’t fully understand how our world put them in a position to make that kind of sacrifice. I definitely can’t get my brain around how they did it.
There are 10,625 Crosses and Stars of David for those buried in the Cemetery at Normandy. All affected families had the choice whether or not to have their loved ones buried here. Only 39% elected to do so. So, you do the math. The numbers are overwhelming.
I really felt the loss of these boys today, as I walked through the cemetery with my own little one.
All of these cemeteries, whether they be American, French, English, or another nationality are so humbling to me.
My grandfather is buried in one in Luxembourg, where Patton is buried. It’s always a moving experience to me when we visit.