In April Alex and I went down to Normandy, France for the World Scout Camporee. Scouts from all over Europe joined together for an amazing event hosted on this hallowed land. While most scouts were Americans who live in Europe, there were scouts of many other nationalities such as French, German and Polish. In all there were an estimated 4,500 attendees. We went down with some friends from our ward, and met up with some old friends (the Alleys) who came from Geilenkirchen. We arrived on a beautiful Friday afternoon, it rained that night, then Saturday was dry, then pretty much rain the rest of the time, until right AFTER we took down our tents. But it didn’t damper our spirits; if anything, it heightened our appreciation for those who suffered unimaginable discomforts, pain and even death on these shores.
This is Omaha beach. We camped just above it. In this picture it is high tide. During the invasion, Allied troops waited until nearly low tide because the high tide would prevent them from seeing, and thereby avoiding, submerged obstacles set up by the Germans.
Alex and Thomas doing what boys do next to water with an unlimited supply of rocks.
On Omaha beach looking toward Pointe du Hoc, the cliffs at the far end in this picture, which was the first point of landing by the Allies (Army Rangers) who scaled near vertical cliffs to do so.
The Cathedral at Bayeux, a few kilometers inland.
Memorial service attended by hundreds of scouts, leaders and families. A new bell for the tower was dedicated in honor of the 70th anniversary of D-day on behalf of the scouts.
Alex asked if that was the pope. Nope.
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A plaque outside the cathedral explaining how Bayeux was the first city liberated by the Americans on D-day.
And the explanation of Pointe du Hoc (zoom in to read).
Back to Omaha beach. This is low tide. That’s the same pier visible in the first picture. Now you can get a sense of just how far the troops had to run, in full combat gear, soaking wet, through barbed wire and iron stars, with bullets raining down on them.
Same.
There were a few events on Saturday, one of which was a multi-media presentation, which meant there were two jumbo screens showing historical footage. There was also a French-American actor who thought he was more famous than he really was (I’d never heard of him even though he said he was famous), a choir (?), and a real marching band (best part if you ask me).
Said marching band.
Said marching band actually marching!! They were behind us as the whole way as we hiked 2 km back to the campsite for dinner (which was paella by the way. the vegetarian version was MUCH tastier than the chicken and shrimp version).
Still marching.
No pictures of dinner, so just imagine. Neither did I think of taking pictures of the campsite, so this shot of the flashlight hanging on the tent ceiling will just have to spark your imagination.
The only photo of Alex and me together. Two happy guys.
Sunday morning rolled around and we found ourselves at a touching memorial service at the Normandy American Cemetery.
Veterans from the Normandy invasion were present at the far right next to the columns. By the way, it was raining the whole time.
Alex was selected to lay one of the wreaths next to the garden.
Laying said wreath.
Trying to figure out which way to go. FYI he went the wrong way, to the other side of the crowd and had to wait until everyone was done before he could cross over again.
After the ceremony, there were flowers available for anyone who wished to lay one next to a grave stone. It’s one thing to walk around a cemetery like this just looking at the gravestones, but when you take the time (a few seconds really) to bend down and place a flower next to one of the grave markers it somehow makes it more meaningful. Alex was proud to do this small act of service. And I was proud of him for showing so much respect.
An excellent conclusion to an amazing and memorable trip.
Oh, did you know that Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (the president’s son) is buried at Normandy? Gen Roosevelt was the only general officer who landed in the first wave. He survived the initial invasion only to die of a heart attack a little over a month later.
We happened upon Clifford Watson’s grave marker and we made sure to look him up when we got home. See the link:
What an honor it was to visit Normandy, especially with my son. And to have the unique privilege of attending a scout camporee there was just amazing.
Rob
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