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grims had left England in 1620. Since my maternal ancestors had come
to America in this Pilgrim group, the place had special interest to me.
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a protected harbor. When the tide is out the boats are actually sitting on
the bottom. We all laughed at the fact that the seagulls, which were con-
stantly wheeling in the air above us, nailed Dan. Richard bought a local
paper and that got splattered. We passed Nelson’s restaurant. With that
name I had to take the boys there for dinner.

We also visited Portsmouth and the HMS Victory. That night we
boarded a ship in the late evening for a trip to Le Havre. We all loved the
departure trip as we went down the Channel and had the lights from the
harbor fade from view. The boys enjoyed climbing all over the ship. We
paid for berths for everyone and Richard and I slept soundly. How much
sleep the boys actually got is a matter of conjecture. Considering the
width of the English Channel the ship must have traveled about three
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to locate our automobile rental agency. When they returned with the car
we found there was simply not room enough for all of our baggage. Ac-
cordingly, we left a couple of empty boxes on the sidewalk as we drove
away.

Richard had been to the Normandy landing grounds that became
famous on June 6, 1944. With his interest in military history he was a
superb guide to all of us as we went to the various landing areas and
through the museum. The courage of the soldiers, British and Ameri-
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compel anyone’s admiration. On the other hand, the Utah Beach landing
grounds where many of the Americans landed had only a sandy hillside
behind which would have been fairly easy for tanks and trucks loaded
with equipment to follow behind the attacking forces. I am no military
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selected to the east. It was, however, a brilliant strategy to attack at
Normandy, rather than Calais where the Germans anticipated landing
because it was closer to England. We visited the American cemetery
nearby. The monument and the landscaping are beautiful but it brought

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