Veterans Day Things in Travel Book

It’s Veterans Day here in the U.S. and it’s got me thinking of my first trip to Europe.

Why would that have anything to do with Veterans Day you ask?

Well, while we were in France, we spent some time in Normandy at the Landing Beaches. (Omaha, Juno, Utah, etc.) Honestly, I was not opposed to going, but it was not top priority for me on this trip at the time. However, I ended up being so grateful that we went.

It was a very grey, rainy, cold day when we toured the beaches. But it was perfect. The crappy weather set the mood for us. We took a bus from Paris up north to Rouen where we spent the next couple of nights. (I’ll have to post another blog about Rouen because wow! What a cool place!)

But these beaches. There was this amazing atmosphere. Almost ghostly. You could just feel the stories.

You can see the craters in the earth from bombings.

German Bunkers



Hard to believe it was 7 years ago that I was there.

I realized that day that these men’s lives were more than just stories we learn about in History classes. This stuff really happened. I mean, I knew that. But being there just made it more real. These were the actual shores they marched up and died on. We stood on the sand and touched the ocean where these men sacrificed themselves.

At Omaha Beach there is a giant American Cemetery and Memorial for those fallen soldiers of WWII. It was a bit surreal to be standing there in that little piece of America on French soil.

We went with EF Tours so we had a large group of college students and some of their parents with us. I remember overhearing some of the girls grumbling and complaining because they didn’t want to trudge all over the place in the rain. They were whining about how they’d rather be out shopping. I think some of them even stayed on the bus when we stopped at the last beach. I remember wanting to slap their ungrateful faces and say “HOW DO YOU NOT HAVE INTEREST IN THIS?? HOW ARE YOU NOT THANKING YOUR LUCKY STARS THAT YOU ARE HERE RIGHT NOW.” Instead I gave them the stink eye when I walked past them and went out and took a million pictures and completely absorbed all of the beauty and history that they didn’t give a snot about.

Anyway, this is my little entry of thanks to all of you Veterans out there, past and present. Thank you for fighting for our freedom! Especially you, “Brother” David! I still remember you and your kind face. RIP.

Some of you may have read some of my entries on OpenDiary about “Brother” David. He was someone I met and spent a day with in Mexico later in that same year. He was an Army Soldier on furlough. He was one of those people that you meet and have an instant connection with. As if we’d known each other for years. He was killed in action just a couple of months after this picture was taken at the age of 22 in Afghanistan in January 2008.

Last updated January 20, 2015