Hanfleur Port and Normandy Beach, France

Hanfleur port is the gateway to Paris and Normandy. It was in Normandy where on June 6th, 1943, the Allies landed in Europe to wrest the fallen countries from Nazi tyranny. This year – 2024 – marks the 80th year anniversary of D-Day.

We docked in Honfleur and took the excursion, “D-Day and Normandy”, a 2-hour drive out to the Normandy coast. We arrived in the city of Arromanches, which at the time of Nazi occupation was a popular beach resort for the French. This pretty town was spared bombing so the Allies could construct an artificial port that enabled some 10,000 tons of supplies per day to reach the soldiers and support operations. The Allies sunk some 60 ships to build the port and got the port working within 7 days.

Cathy was very touched... her father served as an Army combat medic in Africa and France during WWII, where he experienced the horrors of war real time and up-close. At the D-Day Museum, we found the medics kits and cots that were utilized. In one of the talks. it was revealed how the medics had to make decisions about who could be saved and who could not.

On D-Day, May 1944, the Allies launched a major invasion of Normandy to defeat the Nazis and free France and the whole of Europe. The beaches included Omaha (Americans), Utah (Americans), Juno (Canadian), and Gold and Sword (British).

Many thousands of allied forces lost their lives trying to liberate France. 9,387 Americans are buried in the nearby Normandy American Cemetery, which we visited. Some of the photos and exhibits within the site museum brought Cathy to tears. This was a somber and memorable day.Read more