Pointe du Hoc is the peninsula that the Ranger Battalion sieged on D-Day. Brad endured the grueling torture of Ranger School and wanted to see what his fellow Rangers had accomplished. We ate a quick lunch of pb&j in the parking lot before heading out.
There were craters all over (seriously, every few yards) from bombs that had been dropped on the area. They were fun for the boys (read: kids) to run through.
The bunkers at Pointe du Hoc seemed to be more intact, with doors and everything. Not sure if it was because more of them were underground than the others, or what? But, it made for fun adventures...again, for the boys.
The views were beautiful and I was impressed with the cliff's that the Rangers scaled to get to the enemy forces. I guess that's what being a Ranger is all about... (and those waters!?! gorgeous!)
Inside one of the bunkers/gunnery areas that was right on the cliff, they had a plaque for the Rangers who lost their lives in the battle.
After Pointe du Hoc, we headed towards Utah Beach. They had a small museum there that we walked through before heading down to the beach. It had a bunch of war memorabilia and gear.
Our FINAL stop in the Normandy area was the Sainte-Mere-Eglise church. This church was made famous when, on D-Day, a paratrooper got caught on the corner of the churches tower. He never made it to the ground to fight in the battle! He hung there for something like 2-3 hours, pretending to be dead, before he was eventually taken as a POW. They now have a fake man hanging there in his honor.
After that, we hopped in the car and headed towards Mont St. Michel!!
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