Normandy: On the Beach

      When an American of a certain age goes to Paris, he often thinks of an excursion to the west coast of France, that coast that became memorialized on June 6, 1944.
      Recent Hollywood films have taken audiences back to these beaches, again.   In 1980, war veteran and Normandy veteran, Samuel Fuller produced a film about his division- the 1st Infantry Division.  It was titled "The Big Red One".  It was a success, but not as successful as the recent film,"Saving Private Ryan".   One of the more memorable films was "The Longest Day", based on Cornelius Ryan's history of the same name.
       Millions of visitors return to the Normandy coast every year to walk on the sand, to scale the cliffs, to view the beaches from various vantage points that help the visitor who attempts to step back in time to that day when Americans, British, and Canadian troops stormed ashore to seal the fate of Hitler's Third Reich.
     What strikes the visitor who gazes to the English Channel's waters is the width of the beach from shore to surf when the tide is low.  It can measure close to  four hundred yards!  It is flat and easily walked on a calm day.  In September and October, one often sees horses in harness racing tack trotting along the waters' edge.   Near Utah beach, south of Omaha Beach, wheeled sail carts are available to rent to race the wind up and down the shore.   Flanking the beaches are the concrete installations erected by the Nazis to defend the shore.   Many are intact, a few with old artillery pieces pointing seaward.   From their elevated positions, they had  excellent fields of fire.  Because of the topography, invading troops had few choices when it came to advancing off the beach.   A few ravines offered the only way east.   It took the troops a while to find them; which they did, at great cost.
          The 50th Anniversary came and went 19 years ago, to great fanfare and celebration.  Now, the locals are gearing up for the 70th Anniversary, which will include a few of the remaining veterans who participated on that day.  The youngest of the brethren would be about 88 years old.  The rest, long gone but not forgotten.
      The Mayor and his Deputy spent the day here, September 30, almost 69 years later.