Battlefield Tour 2004

I decided that this would be a good year to take a battlefield tour through Europe. After a long search through the various Internet web pages of the various tour operators, I narrowed our search to a few, and began comparing those sites and their prices. I did not want to try to deal with the huge crowds that would be in France for the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings so I opted for later, in July.

I decided to go with The War Research Society "Battlefield Tours"
based in England.

The company is operated by Mr. Ian Alexander, a retired British police officer. Most of the other tour guides are either retired military or police officers, and some are still working. Jeanie Alexander, Ian's wife, accompanies him on the trips. The price of the tour was most reasonable. I'll explain the reasons for choosing them as I continue about the trip, but suffice to say now that I was very pleased with the entire experience and would recommend The War Research Society Battlefield Tours without reservation.

I took the "D-Day to Berlin" ten day tour. The tour dates were July 6th through 15th, with the tour starting out in England. I decided to fly to England on July 1st and take another quick day tour and have some time "to do London". If you decide to take a similar trip make sure you book as much in advance as possible. This will not only ensure your inclusion in the tour of your choice, but also give you the best airline fares. Don't wait until the last minute or you budget will get stretched in a hurry. I joined the tour at the Dover (white cliffs of) ferry terminal. The bus did not arrive until the after noon so I had time to visit Dover Castle and see the "secret underground tunnels" used for decades by both military and civilian government operations.

Our tour group included four British WWII veterans. One was a Commando whose mission was to go ashore on D-Day and search for German documents. He worked with skilled safe crackers and "burglars", as he called them. With those skills, one wonders where they were recruited from!

Another veteran was a British Paratrooper (1st Parachute Brigade) who jumped into Normandy, and again at Arnhem during Operation Market-Garden ("a bridge too far"). He was a wonderful asset to the tour, and gave many personal descriptions of the actions at the areas I visited.

The third veteran was an Royal Air Force Photograph Analyst whose assignment was to go over the photos brought back to England by the reconnaissance planes, and then relay his intelligence and bomb damage reports to the Allied Commanders.

Our fourth vet was another British soldier who fought through France, Holland, Belgium and Germany. He, too was a great source of "color" to the trip.

Below are some of the 300 plus photographs that I took on the trip. I'll be posting some of them over the next few weeks (when I have time to get them all organized). These are of the Normandy beaches and the American War Dead Cemetery at Omaha Beach.

THE GERMAN "ATLANTIC WALL" BUNKERS AND GUN EMPLACEMENTS ARE STILL EVIDENT
AMONG THE SHELL CRATERS MADE 60 YEARS AGO

A HOUSE ON JUNO BEACH, NOW "ADOPTED" BY THE CANADIANS FORCES
WHO LANDED OUTSIDE THEIR FRONT DOORS ON D-DAY

THE PICTURE BELOW WAS TAKEN JUNE 7TH, 1944, AS GERMAN PRISONERS WERE
PARADED PAST THE SAME HOUSE, OFF TO ENGLISH POW CAMPS
(NOTE SHELL DAMAGE TO THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE)

THE OBJECT IN THE FOREGROUND AND THOSE ALONG THE HORIZON ARE THE
"MULBERRY" FLOATING CONCRETE DOCK STRUCTURES

THE CENTER POINT OF THE OMAHA BEACH CEMETERY
THE STATUE REPRESENTS AMERICAN YOUTH REACHING UPWARDS.

The World War II Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial is situated on a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach and the English Channel in Colleville-sur Mer, France. It is just east of St. Laurent-sur-Mer and north west of Bayeux about one hundred and seventy miles west of Paris.

The cemetery is at the north end of its one half mile access road and covers one hundred and seventy two acres. It contains the graves of 9,386 American military dead, most of whom gave their lives during the landings and ensuing operations of World War II.

On the walls of the semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial are inscribed the names of 1,557 American missing who gave their lives in the service of their country, but whose remains were not located or identified. The memorial consists of a semicircular colonnade with a loggia at each end containing maps and narratives of the military operations. At the center is a bronze statue titled, "Spirit of American Youth." An orientation table overlooks the beach and depicts the landings at Normandy. Facing west at the memorial, one sees in the foreground the reflecting pool, the mall with burial areas to either side and the circular chapel beyond. Behind the chapel are statues representing the United States and France.

An aerial photograph of the Omaha Beach cemetery

THE VIEW FROM THE CENTERPOINT(ABOVE) OF THE OMAHA BEACH CEMETERY
THE CEMETERY EXTENDS BEYOND THE ARCH IN THE DISTANCE
THE SAME DISTANCE AS FROM THE POINT OF THE PHOTO. I T IS TRULY
A SOMBER SIGHT, PARTICULARLY ON THIS RAINY DAY I Was THERE.

NOTE: There are no American WWII cemeteries in Germany.
The US Government decided at the end of the war to disinter all American dead from various German locations and move them to cemeteries in Holland, Belgium and France. Many were returned to the United states, and some to England. There are numerous British and other Allied forces cemeteries in Germany, however. Many of the officers had stated that if they were to be killed in the fighting that they be buried with their men. General George S. Patton Jr. and Major General Maurice Rose are just two of them.