As we rapidly approach the 70th anniversary of Operation Overlord, the Allied landings in Normandy, I thought it might be appropriate to share some photos. I've been to Normandy several times over the years; even today, the events of 1944 permeate the region with an omnipresent sense of its place in history.
Some places, like the American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach, are iconic reminders of the costs of the invasion. Other less well-known sites can be just as moving; the Abbaye d'Ardennes was used as a headquarters by the 12th SS during the battle of Carpiquet - 20 Canadian prisoners-of-war were executed there.
In 2001 I was fortunate to have the opportunity to escort a Normandy veteran on his first return to the beaches where he landed 57 years earlier, beginning at Arromanches - site of the massive artificial harbor built by the Allies to support the invasion - where he came ashore. In Normandy he proudly and vividly recounted his experiences of the war as we traveled comfortably across the same terrain he and his fellow soldiers of the 43rd Wessex Division fought and died on in 1944. Bill Stockton passed away a few years ago, aged 98.
But the war is long over, and the memories are fading. France, of course, remains, and the light, as always, is something special.
