|
|
|
|
| Wednesday, July
11th Summary Posted Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. France time (4:59 p.m. central time)
Mr. Dodeler suggested we should go to
Normandy while here and, with him, his wife and their grandson Benjamin,
we had the phenomenal chance to feel history come alive today. We began
with an early breakfast, then watched a documentary about Operation
Overlord (now more commonly known as
Next, we visited Pointe Du Hoc, a rocky
cliff where U.S. Rangers climbed up to disable huge anti-aircraft guns and
other artillery. The land there is pock-marked like pictures of the moon
from Allied bombing raids before D-Day. The Rangers climbed up the Pointe
while German soldiers shot directly at them, threw grenades and cut their
climbing lines. Perhaps the most moving part of the day came at the cemetery above Omaha Beach, where we saw endless rows of crosses – the final resting places of 9,387 Americans killed while liberating France. A wall in the garden lists the names of 1,557 Americans who were killed in action but whose bodies were never recovered. I cannot imagine the person who could not be moved at the memory of their sacrifice. A wall facing the names in the garden says: "To these we owe the high resolve that the cause for which they died shall live." We had a chance today to more fully appreciate something most Americans may never really understand. Hopefully it will move us to praise God more for our country, our freedom and our brave soldiers.
Our last stop was Juno Beach, another of
the five D-Day beaches. There, the British made a man-made harbor by
sinking concrete and any old boats and equipment they could find, creating
a place where ships could bring in supplies to support the rest of the
effort in France. We finished the day at a French café where we ate crepes and were often quiet. A day like today will do that to you. Tomorrow we work at both churches and again at the Institute. We love and miss you and urge you to keep praying for us! (Written by Kelley Bruss, 7/11/01) |
Copyright © Bay City Baptist Church • 1840 Bond Street • Green Bay, WI 54303 • 920-499-5561
These
words were carved on the wall of a cemetery chapel we were in today:
"Think not only upon their passing. Remember the glory of their
spirit." We stood above Omaha Beach where about 2,000 Americans gave
their lives to bring freedom back to France. I am not ashamed to tell you
I cried and I believe many others in our group did as well.
D-Day,
June 6, 1944). As we prepared to leave the house and go to the place we’ve
just seen on TV, Mr. Dodeler was asking us specifics about what parts of
the region he should show us. Suddenly, he stopped speaking. The room grew
utterly still as tears rolled down his cheeks. After a long moment, he
left the room and we heard his muffled sobs from a back room. When he
returned, he told us: "I am so grateful for what your people did for
my country." Now history has a name and a face. If the Americans and
Allies had not freed France, who knows what chance Christianity would have
to be alive here today?
Our
day began at St. Mere-Eglise, the first town liberated by the Allies on
D-Day. On the town church, a replica of a paratrooper hangs from the
steeple, stuck by the cords of his parachute. The paratroopers fell all
around the town, then drove the Germans out and held it.
After
visiting the cemetery, we went down on Omaha Beach, the bloodiest of the
five beaches that were part of the D-Day invasion. Today, children run,
laughing, through those waves. But 56 years ago boys who were hardly more
than children ran through those waves to their death but ultimately to the
freedom of millions. Several members of our group collected sand from the
beach to take home as a remembrance.