Page 9 - Shining On Newsletter - Autumn 2022

the barrel some way away! The site is well preserved and you can see why it was built here as the views
along the coast gave it an ideal vantage point.

We waited until the drizzle had subsided before setting off to our next
stop. Strangely the drizzle seemed to be just in the battery area, the
wonders of coastal weather. We rocked up to a little café just round
the corner from the Overlord museum, which cafe was officially
closed, but opened up especially for us!

After coffee we first visited the nearby American Cemetery (with a
fantastic view of Omaha beach). You have to see these places to
understand how huge, how well kept and how moving they are. You
can’t fail to reflect back on what happened and that each one of the
thousands of crosses there represents a brave soul who paid the
ultimate sacrifice.

Retracing our path past the now firmly closed (chained-off) cafe we

visited the Overlord museum,
marked by a huge Sherman tank.
Covering the American landings
both on the beaches and inland,
the equipment and information
here could take you all day to
digest. Alas, today was a full day
and time wasn’t on our side so
after an hour or so browsing we
pressed on. We did manage a
group photo though!
Our last stop for the day was
Pointe du Hoc, overlooking the
peninsula up to Cherbourg. This
battery was singled out as
another priority that needed to be
neutralised before the invasion.
On the day of the landings, some
wayward navigation meant the
US Rangers arrived at the wrong
headland, which alerted the
defenders, so after enduring
heavy crossfire traversing at sea
and then while climbing rope
ladders, the group eventually
managed to win the site, only to
find that the guns had been
moved! Luckily only a few miles
inland. Suffering heavy casualties
but undaunted, they pressed on to find the guns hidden in a ditch and blow them up.

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