From Caen to Cannes, Almost

This past week we have been in France driving from the English Channel to the French Riviera and points in between. Our first few days were spent honoring those brave men who fought for freedom on June 4, 1944, also known as D-day.

Two hundred twenty-five men scaled these 90 foot walls after being dropped 4 kilometers away from the original planned drop zone due to bad weather. With grappling hooks, wet ropes and the enemy firing at them, they managed to get over these walls and find and destroy the 155mm guns that were aimed at the beach landing zones. All but ninety of the two hundred and twenty five men were either killed or injured.

They were met with these German bunkers built with six foot thick walls to house German soldiers, for ammo storage and to shield those huge 155mm guns.

This is what one looked like inside and outside.

The big 155 mm gun would have been pointing out of this hole toward the ships and beaches where the allied forces were landing, .

After the 155mm guns were destroyed, 156,000 men landed on the beaches of Omaha and Utah that day. In rough seas and carrying 85 pound packs, they climbed off the ships onto these smaller boats to get to shore. Crammed in like sardines, some didn’t even make it to the smaller boats. They drowned in the choppy waters due to missing their jump into the smaller boat and wearing the heavy packs on their backs.

One man tells the story of him missing the side of the boat due to the weight of his pack and how petite he was, when a larger and taller man pulled him out of the water and into the boat.

The bomb craters all over the beaches are huge. Jay is standing in one and there were many even larger than that one. That is what our men were facing when arriving at those beaches and climbing up those cliffs that day.

As paratroopers landed in the town of Ste. Mere Elise, the first French town liberated by the American forces, one paratrooper landed on the belltower of a German occupied church. The paratrooper was captured however escaped four days later he rejoined his division. The church keeps an effigy of the paratrooper with his parachute attached to the tower to remember how the town had been occupied by the Germans for four years and the allied forces rescued them from the tyranny they had been under.

This is a picture of what church service looked like after those days of taking Normandy back from the Germans.

I’m not a history expert at all. I might have slept through many of my history classes in school, however the stories we heard and read these few days are amazing and makes us even prouder of our country. This mission, Operation Overload (also known as Operation Neptune) might have been the greatest secret kept amongst allied powers ever.

In the two days we spent walking the beaches, viewing the sites, and reading the stories, we saw only one person taking selfies. Amazing in this day and time, right? This is an area of our world that is still respected and honored. I wish every American could and would visit. It will bring to life what our country, with our allies, did to help bring peace.

The memorial cemetery and all along the beaches are kept pristine, giving the deserved honor and dignity to our men, our women who served as medical aids and volunteers in the Red Cross, and their families.

President Reagan said it best at the fortieth Anniversary of D-day. “D-day saved a continent. We fought for freedom in Europe. We will always remember, we will always be prepared so we will always protect our freedom. If we forget, we won’t know who we are.”

Just as we stepped up to the memorial, our national athem began to play. All those you see in the picture turned to our flag and sang along. Then a twenty -one gun salute played through the speaker, and Taps from a single trumpet. Wow! Not a dry eye.

When we were at the pilgrim’s mass at the end of our walk in Santiago, the talk was on God’s providence. I’ve had some time to think about His providence while walking the Normandy beaches. Bible tools says this about God’s providence, “The word “providence” means essentially foresight or making provision beforehand. When applied to God the idea takes on a vastly larger dimension because God not only looks ahead and attempts to make provision for his goals, but infallibly accomplishes what he sets out to do. And because it is God’s governance that is in view, it encompasses everything in the universe, from the creation of the world to its consummation, inclusive of every aspect of human existence and destiny. Providence, then, is the sovereign, divine superintendence of all things, guiding them toward their divinely predetermined end in a way that is consistent with their created nature, all to the glory and praise of God. This divine, sovereign, and benevolent control of all things by God is the underlying premise of everything that is taught in the Scriptures.” I believe God’s hands were on this day and on this mission.

I’ll end this piece of France with an inscription written on one of the memorials that I feel says it all: “These endured all and gave all that justice among nations might prevail and that mankind might enjoy freedom and inherit peace.”

Whew! After those amazing few days in the Caen area, we began our driving across France. First stop – Claude Monet’s home of 43 years and his garden in Giverney.

After leaving Giverney, our navigation was set for Chamonix, France to hike a little bit of Mont Blanc when Jay looked at the weather forecast. Twenty minutes from Paris, Jay called an audible and we changed our destination to begin our chase for warmer weather. Of course we stopped in Paris for a couple of pictures.

Next stop Montpellier for the night and a few hours in the morning to look around.

Yes, that is sheep and their herder in the town square walking past us as we were eating breakfast.

We found ourselves a couple hours short of Cannes in Marseille. We dropped our car in a parking garage for a few days and began walking many miles each day, again. However, just around one large fun city this time. As camino pilgrims, it’s difficult to give up the walking. We used to think driving was a great way to see towns and sights, but now we know the best way is walking.

You see the little steeple way up on the hill, yes we walked there too. It’s the Notre Dame de la Garde.

We walked to see the Palais Longchamp. This was built in celebration of bringing water to Marseille via a canal. It took 30 years to complete the structure in 1869.

The views were amazing from so many sites around town.

If we were in a car we wouldn’t have seen all the fun things going on such as opera being pulled down the street or the marching band or all the street fairs including the Weber grill cooking contest.

As we were driving to our last stop we did a quick right onto an off ramp to see Saint Remy. This is where Van Gogh painted many of his greatest works while living in the institution.

Our last stop in France was visiting our friends Susan and Mustifa at their home in Divonne-les-Bains. Susan and I met our first day at cosmetology school in 1983. I have had the privilege of watching their children, Ebrihim and Alia, grow and now, Alia has a son. When we arrived we were surprised by facetime calls from both Ebrihim and Alia. Alia stood up to give us the announcement of number two is on the way by showing off her beautiful tummy. We couldn’t have been more excited for all of them. We are privileged to be called “Aunt Kelly” and “Uncle Jay” by these, now adults. They are such a neat family.

It has been so much fun staying up late chatting and getting caught up. God has truly gifted us with wonderful long time friends that you are able to pick up conversations where you left off no matter how long between visits. Mustifa and Susan have taken us to see some of the sights of Geneva and Divonne. It is a beautiful area.

As for Montblanc, well, this is the view from their balcony at sunset. So, even after the called audible near Paris, we were able to see it after all.

We’ve ended our time in France. It is a beautiful country with toll roads galore. (Just a warning if you should happen to rent a car and drive the country) And, look out all, Jay is loving the cheek kissing that goes on in France. It may become his new way to greet you when we get home.

Blessings, Jay and Kelly