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• SomeGuy
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Birthday
• 1983-08-05
Gender
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Male
Location
• Vancouver, BC
Member Since
• 2003-08-02
Occupation
• Writer; Part-Time Hero
Real Name
• James
Personal
Achievements
• Visiting eight different myO friends in person thus far
Anime Fan Since
• Winter 2001
Favorite Anime
• Neon Genesis Evangelion, .hack//SIGN, Naruto, Bleach, Beck, Peacemaker Kurogane, Ranma 1/2 (the guilty pleasure)
Goals
• Visit the myO friends I've missed thus far; complete a cosplay from 300
Hobbies
• Writing, Gaming, Kung Fu, Movies, Acting somewhat strange in general
Talents
• Can recognise most quotes from almost any movie/show on first listen; Can recite the entire 12 days of Christmas by memory
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Tuesday, July 17, 2007
D-Day Anniversary (cont'd.) . . .
We got a question which happened to be the million dollar question itself . . . which I shall forgive this one time because not everyone is as old as I am. So let's do this:
- Re: D-Day: D-Day was the codename for June 6th, 1944. During World War 2, this was the day the world's largest combined invasion took place across the Beaches of Normandy: thousands upon thousands of British, Canadian and American troops crossed the channel and landed in German-occupied France on this day which led to the liberation of France and eventually victory in Europe. As such, it was one of the most important battles of the entire war. Wiki' it, I promise there'll probably be a small blurb or two about it somewhere in there.
This'll be a repeat of the days I covered yesterday. This time, though, they'll be coherent, full, hopefully interesting thoughts.
D-Day -1, Cidre et Tarte Normande (June 5):
It's been a long day. Some of it more interesting than others. But wow, I finally made it: I saw Omaha Beach. Now way back when, I commented on how Juno Beach today "is just a beach." Now maybe it was just the weather . . . but Omaha ain't just a beach today. Save 2 police(?) officers, two guys & a dog, Omaha was BARREN! Again, maybe it was weather, maybe the guys told them "not today", but Omaha definitely had an atmosphere to it . . . it was worth the 8 minutes.
Much like the rest of my Europe trip, seeing but glimpses of all these historic locations is but making me want to come back with more time. As much as I'm enjoying my time here, I'm still missing out on so much! Some day, with others . . . we will explore every corner of Pointe Du Hoc! We shall walk all the way down Omaha Beach . . . if we can, we shall even walk TO Pointe Du Hoc!
Well, dinner's done. Guess I'll head up to my attic . . . a fleeting day, but a wonderful day all the same.
. . . And an old Canadian guy knew of New Westminster! Booyah!
D-Day +63 Years (June 6):
I landed in Courseulles-Sur-Mer with about three hours before I had to. Thus, I walked up and down a couple kilometers of Juno Beach, soaking in sand, seafoam, and final remnants of the Atlantic Wall.
As it turned out, you head west long enough you DO find a bunker on the beachfront; a bit past that, concrete foundations with stel rebar in and around them. So yeah, people move on, the times wash away most of it . .. but there ARE some spots still left . . . but wow, that Norman wind . . . until today, I don't think I have ever seen flags blown straight out continuously the way I saw them today! Absolutely mindblowing! Indeed, even the most hardy Canadian at that memorial service was feeling the bite of the wind . . . that said, all the props to the bugler - weather considered, he played an amazing "Last Post".
I wish I caught that veteran's name . . . wonderful fellow. Great family. And to think,I got a conversation & picture with him because I asked him about the weather on D-Day . . .
. . . evidently, how hard the wind blew was quite the last thought on the minds of the amphibious landers. Fair enough.
When I finally go home at the end of the month, I'll have a great new set of life experiences. Being on the beach on the anniversary of, well . . . it's in the tops, no question. Heh, it's still pretty unbelievable to believe I'm right here, right now. But, I suppose the grains of Juno Beach in my shoes shall likely never leave me . . . 'cause there's a LOT of Juno Beach still in there . . . . . it's as good a souveneir as any, I suppose . . .
Again, I can't stress the pride I feel in myself for getting here, but more so in those who were here 63 years earlier.
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