A Moving Experience
It is not my intention to pontificate about all the gifts I’ve received in my life or even to portray myself as somehow unique when I post about certain experiences I’ve had, rather to share aspects of my life that others may find beneficial, or at least interesting. And today, dear reader, is no exception. 78 years ago today, the Allied Forces (“The Big Three” being the US, UK, and Soviet Union) launched a massive assault on the Axis (Germany, primarily with Italy and Japan) from Southern England across the English Channel on the shores of Normandy. The assault, referred to as “Operation Overlord” involved almost 6 thousand ships and around 140 thousand soldiers in an attempt to penetrate the Nazi’s expanding hold on Europe. While I’m certainly no historian and will admit to the afore-stated facts being just accessed on Google, one of the most moving experiences I’ve ever had was a trip to the beaches of Normandy.
It was the Spring of my Junior year and Aimee, my much older sister (not even a full year, but I like the ring of that), and I were fortunate to go on a trip to France with a group of students enrolled in French classes at the high school. While the itinerary included visits to many beautiful sites, I’ll never forget the feeling of walking the historic terrain where the Allied forces had landed. As I’m sure has become evident from my previous posts, I tend to a take a relaxed and somewhat comical approach to life trying to find humor where possible. On that trip were 3 of my buddies and we had been having plenty of laughs among us: Who would’ve thought that a sprint through Versailles could generate near constant hilarity!
I can’t remember the precise number, but I think it was around 15 students making up our group, and as to be expected with a group of young adults on a foreign vacation traveling on a coach bus, much laughter and joking around filled any silence. But as soon as we began touring that hallowed ground it was if a flip had switched from revelry to reverence. I’ll speak for myself, but I’m sure the feeling was shared; knowing that just two generations prior, soldiers a few years older than myself had stormed those exact beaches under the hail of enemy fire really shook me. To see the endless rows of buried soldiers at The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial covering nearly 180 acres only reinforced the magnitude of sacrifice that took place there.
What an experience that was almost 25 years ago to visit that terrain. While I’m not a veteran who knows firsthand the horrors of war, I certainly appreciate the sacrifices that have been made by those valiant generations who’ve fought for all of us. There has to be some kind of spiritual connection to the past to explain the strength of emotion that I felt that day, regardless, I’m reminded to remember the experience with gratitude.