On my recent trip to Europe, I spent most of a day at the museum and graveyard on the cliffs above Omaha Beach. I have always enjoyed museums but this experience was something entirely different.
Some was just a recitation of history while much of it told individual stories of people who not only walked into danger but gave their lives to protect their comrades. That was walking through the museum.
This is what I saw as I walked out of the museum. This photograph doesn't come close to capturing of what I saw,
Before leaving I took this video to capture a little more of the scale of this place.
I tend to be stoic about a lot of things, but I spent much of that day holding back tears. A lot of these graves hold teenagers. During World War II, you could enlist at 17 with parents consent, and be drafted at 18. Somewhere between two and three thousand died on Omaha beach, and many others on the Utah, Sword, Gold and Juno beaches.
The next time you watch a World War II movie that includes the D Day assault, like the The Longest Day, give a thought to the sacrifices made that day.
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