D-Day June 6, 1944

 War is not glamorous, it is about death and destruction. Those who think otherwise have not been there.

 Today we were picked up at our house in Bayeux by Dale Booth.  Dale served 5 years in the British Army and served two tours as a combat infantryman.  He moved to Normany in 2003 and  has served as a battlefield guide since that time.  Linda and I were in Normandy 10 years ago with Jerry and Mary Ann Hankins.  We had the good fortune to obtain the services of Dale Booth and he spent two days with us on a personal battlefield tour.  We were very impressed then with his knowledge and passion about D-Day.  Not only is Dale a guide, he is a historian of WWII.  

When we were planning this trip to France, Normandy was where we wanted to go.  Samuel is very interested in D-Day and we wanted to him to have the best guide possible.  Linda contacted Dale's wife and he was available to give us a private tour today.  Dale is the consumate professional, not only does he explain the planning and strategy that went into the D-Day assault, he tells the story behind the story.  Through his 20+ years as a D-Day guide, he has met with many of the soldiers, airmen, and navy members who participated in Operation Overlord.  

He discusses the impacts that affected the lives of the veterans and their families.  Based on his personal interviews, he was able to present to us the conditions the troops faced when they were on their landing craft making a direct assault against a determined enemy.  The withering deadly machine gun fire, the mines, the mortars, and artillery directed at them.  The horror, the unbelieveable horrendous fire they were faced with.  To see your best friend, you had trained with, never make the beach because he was shot getting off the landing craft.  The movie "the Longest Day" was a good title for these guys as they were under killing fire by the Germans from anywhere to 6 hours to 8 hours on the 6 of June. There was no glamor in this.

We visited Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, Pointe de Hoc, Angoville Au Plain, and the Normandy American Cemetery located above Omaha Beach.

History came alive for us today.  It has been a good day.  Dale was very good with Samuel.  He was very clear in his presentation.  He told us some very interesting stories about the soldiers.  Their courage, their discipline, their dedication to the mission, and to each other. There was a wide range of emotion felt by all of us as he shared some of their heartbreaking stories.

If your travels take you to the D-Day Beaches, and you need a guide, go no further than Dale Booth.

Omaha Cemetery

Omaha Beach


View from inside German bunker



Pointe du Hoc monument
Dale Booth describing Omaha Beach defences

Samuel,Ethan in a bunker

Angoville Church stained glass

Angoville Church Stained Glass
Hitting the beach

Linda,Ethan,Beth
















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