Day 2: Normandy and U.S. Soil
Well, today, we unexpectedly found ourselves back on U.S. soil. I mean, it wasn’t completely unexpected, given our choices, but we didn’t quite understand the consequences of those choices.
You see, Cindy and I went to the Normandy American World War II Cemetery and Memorial—and that is officially U.S. soil in Normandy in France. That sacred ground was given to the United States as a in honor of the nearly 10,000 men and 4 women who gave their lives during the Battle of Normandy (including the D-Day invasion). It was a somber experience, seeing all those crosses and Star of David tombstones. So many gave their lives to defeat Adolph Hitler and his horrific dream of national socialism.
It was also sobering to realize that we have forgotten the lessons of the past, because so many are embracing socialism in our country today. We are embracing the idea that the state gives us our rights, that the state should care for us from cradle to grave, that the state should decide who lives and who dies, who deserves compassion and resources, what we can and cannot say, what we can and cannot think. We have forgotten the lessons of the past and are gleefully teetering down the stony slope that has succeeded exactly zero times.
Our rights come from God, and compassion should come from the heart, not the barrel of a gun or the pen of a bureaucrat.
We also got a chance to go to the site of the British component of the D-Day invasion. Did you know that the British BUILT an artificial harbor so they could bring in large ships and supply the invasion forces? I didn’t. It was astonishing to the see the technology invented by the British forces to accomplish this. Including floating bridges where the trucks (lorries) drove out to the ships, off-loaded the cargo, and drove back to shore. It was so cool. Winston Churchill essentially said (and I’m paraphrasing), “Quit arguing about how it is to be done. Just do it.”
We also visited Pointe du Hoc and saw the ruins of the German gun emplacements. We learned the story of the heroic American Rangers who captured and held the Pointe for many days as their own numbers were slowly worn down to almost nothing, guarding the American flank against the German garrison in a nearby village. I descended into the ruins of a German bunker where the Rangers held out against overwhelming odds.
(Just in case you were wondering, I also climbed back out…)
And as we traveled along the Normandy countryside, we saw a memorial pillar set up in a small village, and at the top of the pillar was a bronze chicken. That’s right—a chicken. I have no idea why. Neither did our guide. All I know is that it looked like a war memorial with a chicken on the top. Hey, perhaps, the builders were inspired by Disney’s Valiant. (Look it up. Okay, it wasn’t about a chicken, but it was about a WWII pigeon…) Or perhaps, Chicken Run.
We also had lunch at a delightful country farmhouse. While there, I saw a Russian sage bush swarming with bumblebees busily going about their pollenating duties. I have never seen so many bumblebees in one place.
We also saw many FRENCH cows. I remarked that they were UNLIKELY to end up overcooked.
At dinner (in the delightful Animator’s Palate back aboard the ship), we finally met our regular dinner party. Everybody (except for Cindy and I) has been on MULTIPLE Disney cruises. One couple had been on sixteen! And two ladies were from Liverpool (England), and they were going with us on a cruise around their native land. (At lunch, we also met a couple who had been on THIRTY-SIX Disney cruises, and had been married 36 years. I’m sensing a theme here…)
Cindy and I are having the time of our lives, and we are just getting started!
Tomorrow, Stonehenge!!! (Yes, Stone-freaking-henge!)
