Ham and Jam (Part 2)

As part of our Normandy travels, Emma and I visited as many of the historical sites as we could pack into our two (and a bit) days. One of the most important aspects for us both is remembering those who fought and died in Normandy.

There are many cemeteries in Normandy, but we only had time to visit two. So we chose the Cimetière Américain Normandie at Omaha Beach and the Cimetière Allemand at La Cambe. Both are free to visit.

The visitor's centre at the American Cemetary is very good and very moving. You'll learn some of the stories of those who are buried here. The story of Saving Private Ryan was loosely based on the story of the Niland Brothers and the action at La Fiere (see the last blog). I guess Niland didn't sound as good as Ryan...

We also visited the German Cemetary at La Cambe to pay our respects. La Cambe has quite a different and sombre feel to the one at Omaha.

Here you'll typically find two or three soldiers in the same grave plot. You'll also find Michael Wittmann and his tank crew buried together.

Regardless of what side they fought on, I believe the dead deserve to be remembered. We'll be visiting the British cemeteries next time we're in Normandy like I did when I recently visited Oosterbeek.

In our final day, we were determined to fit in the Pegasus Memorial and Merville Battery museums before coming home on the ferry. More on this in a future blog...