Normandy: St Mere Eglise and Arromanches

In St. Mere Eglise, American Parachutists went in the day before D-Day to cut off German communication lines. One man's parachute got caught on a church steeple. After getting shot in the foot he played dead and survived. He became a sort of town hero and a mannequin now rests on the steeple to remember him and his fellow paratroopers. As we visited the museum there, we were reminded of the many who gave their lives for freedom.

In Arromanches, Winston Churchill was able to institute the first artificial harbor ever to ship supplies in for the war effort. It was established here on the French coast in this bay town. Some of the barriers brought in can still be seen.