galmc2Report

I’ve had the good fortune to visit France on four previous occasions. I’ve been in many different areas (Alsace, west coast, Riviera, Provence) and seen much. But for whatever the reason, visiting the Normandy area and seeing the D-Day beaches and memorials is something that I have not experienced.

When putting this trip together Heather and I initially figured that with 6 weeks in Paris there would be good opportunities for low cost train exploration of France. Once we got here we realized that the assumption of low cost train travel was not really a reality. Costs here on all things (including train travel) have jumped up quite a bit. But we both agreed that a trip to Normandy was an important thing to do, so we made plans to spend a day (train up and back with a car rental up there) visiting Juno Beach, which was the beach section where Canadian troops landed on D-Day

Thankfully we booked a full day (early train out and late train back), as we had a few logistical challenges getting there! Our train to Caen (a town about 30 minutes from Juno beach) broke down so we missed our connector train. This meant an hour in Argentan where we now had to wait for a bus to take us the last hour to Caen. But no worries, the town was quaint and we found a lovely boulangerie!

What we didn’t realize was the next problem. Once our bus arrived just after 12:00 noon in Caen, we headed over to Thrifty to get our car. The first hint of trouble was when I checked Google maps for the location and saw “closed.” Once we got to the office that was confirmed. Closed for lunch from noon to 2:00 pm! Good thing our train back was at 8:30pm,

We managed to get the car just before 2:00pm, so off we went. First stop was the Juno Beach museum. There we walked through both exhibits that focussed on Dieppe as well as the entirety of the WW2.

It was fascinating, and very impactful, to read about the tragedy of Dieppe where the Canadian casualty rate (soldiers killed, wounded or taken prisoner) was 68% (3,367 soldiers of nearly 5,000). It was a steep price to pay, even if many of the lessons learned from its failure would apparently serve to make the later D-Day landing successful.

The other takeaway I had from the museum was the political aspect of Canada supporting the war. I learned about the challenges coming out of WW1, especially on the question of conscription of French Canadians and the optics of Canada supporting England with French Canadian soldiers. There was also the optics of Canada making its own foreign policy decision and declaration of war, and not merely being seen as following England.

Once we were done at the Museum we headed for the beach.

This was tough to wrap my head around. For all my life I have associated beaches as places of beauty and relaxation. Trying to imagine this beach as the setting for the D-Day landing was surreal. We spent a few minutes walking the beach and seeing some of the monuments.

Our last stop was the most emotional. We visited the Canadian cemetery at Beny-sur-Mer, where 2,048 Canadian soldiers who lost their lives on D-Day are buried.

Visiting the gravestones and seeing the ages and inscribed messages was so sadly powerful. So many young men in their early twenties taken. Occasionally you’d see a tombstone for someone in their thirties. And occasionally you’d see a gravestone with no name.

I can’t even comprehend the bravery required to be on those boats that morning. I’m so glad we made it there to remember, to bring their sacrifices back to the front of our minds.