In the small rural towns in northern France, the first two weeks of June each year are a special time for remembrance, celebration of D-Day and liberation, and all things military and WWII.  Both of our fathers served in WWII and as you know, my husband loves anything WWII or military related, so we return again and again to Normandy, but then again who does not want to return to France? Allons-y!

In June 2017, we decided to participate in the 1st Normandie-World War II International Film Festival in St-Marie-Du-Mont and Carentan.  The festival is organized by the US World War II Foundation. By sponsoring the event, we were invited to the Red Carpet night held at Utah Beach Museum in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.

The 2017 VIP event honored 2nd Ranger Battalion and D-Day Pointe-du-Hoc veteran George Klein. As promised there were Band of Brothers actors, wine and food, tanks, guns and aircraft…it was fabulous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If Band of Brothers does not ring a bell, it was originally an HBO series, chronicling the story of Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army  and based on the book written by Stephen Ambrose, interviews with survivors of Easy Company, as well as soldiers’ journals and letters, and experiences of these young men who knew extraordinary bravery and extraordinary fear. 

 

We have watched Band of Brothers numerous times. Any male actor who is anyone is probably in it and it is 100% Rotten Tomatoes.  Tom Hanks – check.  James McAvoy – check.  Damian Lewis – check…the list goes on.

The Normandie-WWII International Film Festival is the only film festival in the world featuring the latest on WWII content only, from feature films to shorts. Over 50 films made the cut for the inaugural film festival which were projected in the Carentan Salle du Théâtre. We viewed a few of them over the four day festival and met up with Robin and Jane Brockman at a few events and again for dinner in Bayeux. Robin had submitted a WWII action film entitled Here Again.  He is an American & British national and author, editor, playwright, director, and actor. He grew up in Kansas and joined the US Army at 17, serving as a paratrooper in America and as an infantryman in the Vietnam War. There he underwent a profound Near Death Experience. Later he was an observer in conflicts from the Middle East to El Salvador, Ethiopia to Bosnia, and on the Turkish-Iraqi and Syria-Iraqi borders.  Rob and Jane reminded us that we meet the nicest, most interesting people all over the world.  We wish him well in his future film-making endeavors

 

 

Besides the film festival, our trip would begin with a memorable military bang. As John’s birthday treat, I booked a full day personal tour of Canadian D-Day sites with Bayeux Shuttle.  Mike, our guide was extremely knowledgeable and thanks to him, we were in for a special treat when we again visited the Juno Beach Centre, which is the Canadian WWII museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The day of our visit, David Teacher, M.B.E. was at the museum speaking to a group of school children.  He was among the first soldiers to land in Normandy as he drove his three ton truck off a landing craft.

Crowdfunding had enabled David, who is in a wheelchair, to come back to the 2017 D-Day events to drive a Bedford QL WW2 truck on Juno Beach just as he did on D-Day. Can  you imagine the hoops and hurdles to make this happen?  Insurance requirements, government permits allowing one of these trucks on June beachhead, fabricating a special lift to raise David up into the truck and therefore additional liability insurance, getting the truck from the London military enthusiast collector to Juno Beach, film crews, weather concerns…mind boggling.  Our tour guide was involved in making it happen, so we were able to meet David Teacher and see the awe and enthusiasm of the school children crowding around him. He signed a copy of his book for us: Beyond My Wildest Dreams.

We read there is a plan afoot to take David to Belgium as he is a Battle of the Bulge veteran and to the Netherlands where he also served. He gives his time freely to charities and volunteers speaking to school parties about his war time service.  We were honored and touched to meet this wonderful man.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We visited the somber garden at L’Abbaye d’Ardenne where the memorial reads: “In memoriam: on the night of 7-8 June 1944, eighteen Canadian soldiers were murdered in this garden while being held here as prisoners of war. Two more prisoners died here, or nearby, on 17 June 1944. Lest we forget.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another day found us attending an all day parachute jump from WWII planes in farmers’ fields with thousands of our closest friends.  Like many multi-tasking Americans, we planned to arrive on schedule, see a few jumps, then drive out and go on to our next activity, stopping somewhere for a wonderful lunch and a coffee…not the French way.  Should have packed a picnic and lawn chairs, planning to relax, celebrate, and enjoy the festivities. The police planned a one-time controlled entrance for everyone thru the one-lane hedgerows into the fields set for parking.  In the evening, the traffic flow would turn around when the event is over. Luckily there were booths selling beer and grilling sausages, so it was not a problem to slow down and enjoy the moment.

The D-Day Experience is another must see at Dead Man’s Corner in Saint-Côme-du-Mont, featuring a 3D immersive exhibit, a flight simulator, two museums, two shops, and a memorial dedicated to airborne troops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What would a celebration be without a parade?  We spent another fine day at Isigny-Sur-Mer enjoying their annual D-Day military parade which is similar to 4th of July only probably a lot more military vehicles and tanks. Everyone dresses up like it’s the 1940’s and re-enactors come from all over including Belgium and the Netherlands to dress up like Canadians, British, and Americans. 

 

 

 

 

 

As we drove out of Isigny at the end of the day, we came face to face with a Sherman tank blocking the entire roadway. The drivers had no intention of moving unless perhaps it was to flatten all of us in our tiny Peugeots and Renaults, so we managed to back up quickly along with everyone else and find alternate routes out of town. Makes for a great story and memory….

We will be back again and again, and most certainly in 2019 for the 75th Anniversary of D-Day.

C’est Tout!