World War II Sites - Juno Beach

While in Canada I did a lot of planning for my trip to France. I knew I wanted to go to Vimy Ridge, Juno Beach and the Memorial Museum in Caen. I am not a “war buff” – my nephew probably knows more than I do about this part of our history – but I wanted to acknowledge and commemorate the men and women who gave their lives to make a difference in the lives of others. I also remembered how moved I was when I went to Iepers (Ypres) in Belgium the first time and realized the scope of the sacrifices made. Thousands died in battle each day for months at a time. It’s hard to comprehend the magnitude of the World Wars. And there is something about being in the actual place that brings a new awareness of the reality.

I spent 3 days in the region of Bayeux/Caen in Normandy. Bayeux is about a 2 ½ train ride from Rouen. I found the guest house I had booked on-line to be totally charming.

The town itself was lovely. This year marks the 70^th anniversary of D-Day, so the town commemorated the event with flags and various activities.

Bayeux is the home of the famous Bayeux Tapestry which recounts the battle of William the Conquerer. The tapestry is actually embroidered cloth and was made in the 9^th century (1070’s). At 70 metres long (230 feet) it is quite impressive. (Pictures from a web-site)

There was also a very interesting Museum of Fine Arts which had a vast collection of local porcelain – world famous. I loved one of the patterns and came across a local artisan who hand-paints her pieces – quite lovely. A souvenir of the town.

From Bayeux the next day I traveled to Caen, which is only about 15 minutes away by train. I planned to spend the day at the Memorial Museum. 

 

I’m glad I gave myself the whole day – it took that long to take in most of the exhibits. They were incredibly well done.

I watched two films to start. The first was on D-Day – the images were raw and powerful. One of the things that I realized was how important the actual film footage was in recording the events. The film pieced together the preparations for D-Day with clips from both armies: the Allies and the Third Reich. On the screen you saw what was happening from the perspective of each side: building bunkers, amassing machinery, training, and deployment. I really got a sense of the importance of the war correspondents (photographers, film makers, and commentators) in recording the events as they unfolded – not knowing exactly how they might turn out. Despite all the war films we see, to see someone actually getting shot and killed by another person does something to the psyche.

The second film was on Hope. It recounted many of the wars and conflicts that had taken place since WWII. Although there was a sense of the never-ending nature of conflict, the underlying theme was that each one ended because of the desire for peace. Somehow, peace found it’s way forward through forgiveness. Former enemies could forge, if not friendship, at least respectful relationship with the other.

After the films I explored the exhibits. Incredible sense of history. I got a better understanding of the converging factors that played a part in the start of WWII, political as well as economic. There were short films throughout the exhibits recounting the effect of the war on different peoples and groups: women and children, writers and artists, and, of course, the Jewish people. I can’t get my head around the numbers: 5-6 million Jews systematically murdered. As well, millions of soviet prisoners of war and ordinary citizens (especially Soviet, Polish, Yugoslav, Roma/Gypsies, mentally/physically handicapped) perished. Some estimate over 11 million murdered – that’s the equivalent of 1/3 of Canada. Such tragedy and suffering.

Part of the exhibit was dedicated to the D-Day landing.

Another exhibit was in the actual bunker that was used by the Third Reich during the D-Day landings. The museum is built on the same site.

Outside I found a memorial to the Canadian military who took part in the battle.

(Another reason I was glad to have the whole day, was it gave me the time to wait for flags to fly – 20 minutes for this one to move high enough.)

The next day I had booked an all-day excursion to visit some of the battle sites, including  the D-Day beaches – at least those taken by the Canadian and British forces (Juno, Sword and Gold). The tour was through Overlord Tours and it was excellent. They have a variety of packages – another being a tour of the U.S. beaches (Utah and Omaha).

There were seven of us, six from Canada, on the tour. Because we were mostly Canadian, our guide took us to a couple of places not on the formal tour. The first was to an old Abbey in Ardeene (rebuilt after being bombed). 

It was the site where at least 18, if not more, Canadian soldier prisoners of war were murdered and buried in a mass grave.

Many of those killed came from the North Nova Scotia Highlanders regiment. I recognized some of the family names and the places where they were from: North Sydney, Sydney Mines… Dad would have just turned 15 on D-Day in 1944. I wondered if he might have known some of these soldiers?

From here we went to Pegasus Bridge, which the British took from the Nazi’s as part of the Normandy landing.

Just after midnight on June 6^th, three gliders filled with paratroopers (30 in each) landed near the bridge and totally surprised the Third Reich troops. (You can see one of the gliders in the photo below under the trees.) The British took the bridge in 10 minutes. This bridge was crucial for reconnecting with the other Allied troops and to stop the Germans from mounting a counter attack.

 

The museum had the same type of glider on display.

And how it looked before flight:

The next stop was Sword Beach.

Each of the beaches were about 2-3 km long (3-5 miles). The Third Reich had four years after it invaded France to fortify their hold. The beaches were filled with mines and traps. That was one of the reasons why the Allies didn’t land at high tide, when the ships would have been damaged by the booby-traps.

Then on to Juno Beach.

We stopped first at the place called “Canadian House” at Bernieres-Sur-Mer, one of the small villages on Juno Beach.

It is the home of Hervé Hoffer and his family. It has been in the family since before WWII. The home is in many of the pictures from the Juno Beach landings, although it looks more like this…

A Canadian solider keeping an eye on two German prisoners.

The family had kept in touch with many of the soldiers from that time. Over the years they have received many souvenirs. One is a 100 franc note that a Canadian veteran gave to them years after the war. He had received it from a German soldier whom he had shot during a skirmish in a church not far from the house. The German soldier was wounded and begged him not to kill him. He offered the Canadian a 100 franc note for his life. The note is now in a frame at the Hoffer home, still marked by the blood of the wounded soldier.

In one of the stories from the Hoffers, he recounts how a returning veteran wrote in the guest book…”I was here in the war. Now I’m 84 years old. Sorry for throwing grenades into your cellar.”

http://o.canada.com/news/national/maison-des-canadiens-still-marks-canadas-d-day-heroism

We went from here to the Juno Beach Museum:

The museum was only built in 2003. It had several monuments in front covered with little plaques naming all the people and organizations that made it possible to build. I found this one among the hundreds there.

Our final beach stop was Gold Beach, taken by the British. This was where the Allies constructed a temporary harbour at Arromanches, Mulberry Harbour.

The concrete blocks were constructed in different sites in Great Britain. Someone discovered that concrete will float if there is a air pocket inside. After D-Day ships were ready to ferry these building blocks to Gold Beach and establish a site for off-loading all the tanks, military equipment, supplies and soldiers for the war. 400,000 soldiers arrived through this harbour. 

There are still some of these concrete and steel blocks in the bay, a constant reminder of their history.

It’s hard to imagine the desperation and the destruction of the war. Allies purposefully bombed the bejezus out of cities, town and villages in order to push back the Third Reich.

Parts of Rouen, where I now study, were destroyed..

Caen – a particularly nasty German holdout – was as well.

One of the American Generals made some remark about “temporary destruction” needed to root out the enemy. The people paid a great price. Yet, they welcomed the Allies. They were again free.

As in all the tours, we stop at a few of the cemeteries. This one was not on the itinerary, but the guide made sure to come here.

It was the Canadian Cemetery at Bény-sur-Mer. Over 2000 graves. Young Canadians – too young.

Before leaving the region, I visited the Normandy Battlefield Museum in Bayeux. 

We were not allowed to take pictures inside, except for some of the vehicles.

I saw this one and thought of Dad.

A D-7 Cat. He wouldn’t have work on these during the war, but he definitely did in the States on the road construction sites.

The museum here also had an exhibit on the war correspondents – the writers, film-makers and photographers that showed us and told us what it was like. Andy Rooney (“60 Minutes”) and Ernest Hemmingway were correspondents. There was one woman profiled as well: Lee (Elizabeth) Miller. She had been a model, turned photographer. She went to the different war zones as a correspondent for Vogue.

I am so fortunate to have this opportunity. I wish more Canadians could come here and visit these sites. There are so many lessons to be learned. Everyone I saw was so appreciative of what was accomplished, yet still mourn their losses. It is too facile to say “never again, war.” Places like Caen have made it their mission to educate us on some of the reasons behind these conflicts and how great wars start out small. I remember reading a quote from Robert Greenleaf (author: Servant Leadership) which said something to the effect that when a person gets to the point where “they had no choice,” but to do something drastic, often it’s because they didn’t act when the issue was smaller and could have been handled differently. We can’t rewrite history, but I believe we can and do reshape it.

One example of that from my trip. Our guide showed us a picture at Pegasus Bridge.

The man at the top was Colonel Hans von Luck of the Panzer troop called in to defend the Bridge. The photo on the bottom is of Hans, (retired) Major John Howard, commander of the British troops that captured Pegasus Bridge and the two women who own the Café Gondrée which is next to the bridge. These figures from the war, once enemies, became friends.