The Allies have 5,000 ships!!!

We landed on Omaha Beach about 9:30a.m. Tuesday (9/16) on dog green, which is where the 29th Division came ashore and the scene of some of the heaviest fighting. The tide was in, so we were unable to go to the waters edge and view the terrain from the same perspective as the GI's coming ashore. The pictures show a pillbox up on the cliff and the view from the pillbox. The Germans had pillboxes stationed across the ridge so that they could cover the entire beach with a line of fire. The gun barrels were chained at a height that resulted in the fire coming across the beach about thigh high. It was impossible to get to the seawall from the water without crossing that line of fire. There was also machine gun and small arms fire direct at the landing crafts. Each GI would be carring btween 40-60 pounds of equipment and wearing a soaking wet wool uniform. The germans also had the beach covered with obstacle to obtruct and damage the landing crafts. The obstacles picture would have had either mines or explosive devices connected to the top. But by Days end, the 29th was able to rally and break through from the beach. Over 3,000 GI's were killed, wounded or missing.

The Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville Sur Mer is one of the most pristine spots to which I have ever been. There are 9,387 graves which iclude 3 Medal of Honor winners, 307 unknows, 4 women and one WWI veteran, Quentin Roosevelt, brother of Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., and son of President Teddy Roosevelt. Quentin is buried next to Teddy Jr. Also buried here is SSgt. John P. Ray. In the early hour of D-Day, John Ray parachuted into Ste- Mere-Eglise with 82nd Airborne. John Steel, the guy played by Red Buttons in the Longest Day, got hung up on the Church tower. Another paratrooper also got hung up but lower down on the church. A German aimed his gun at this soldier but before he could fire, Ray landed and the German turned to shoot Ray. Ray drew his pistol and He and the German fired. The German was killed as was Ray, the the GI hung up on the church survived. About 8-10 years ago, John Rayes widow signed up to take a tour with Stephen Ambrose Tours. The GI whose life was safed signed up for the same tour. Neither had ever met. When they got to John Rays grave site, the man told Mrs. Ray that he owed John some money and wanted to pay it back. He took some Euros out of his pocket and placed them between the grave marker and the sod. The coins are still there.

After the Cemetery, we visited Pointe du hoc, which was a gun battery just a little west of Omaha Beach with six 155mm cannons having a range of 25,000 yards, well within striking distance. The Navy and Air Corps bombarded the piss out of this place for nearly a month, upping the anti on D-Day, but they couldn't push the Germans out. The job fell to the 2nd US Rangers to scale the 100 foot cliffs and take the battery. They did just and held the battery, dispite 5 vicious counter attacks and suffering 70% casualties. But the guns were not there on D-Day. They had been moved and temporarily replace with telephone poles.

By the time we arrived at Ste.-Mere-Eglise, we were starved. We parked in the lot near the church and got a baguette with chicken, lettuce, tomato and homemade mayo and some water and had lunch on a stone wall across from the p-lot. Ste-Mere-Eglise has a number of shops that sell WWII paraphanalia, some real, some reproductions, some toys and an assortment of pins, badges and insignia. We parused a few of these places and toured the airborne museum, which as a US glider at its center.

Next up was Arromanches, were the Brittish built a harbor using the monterous, concrete Mulberries, many of which are still in the water. The harbor was invaluable in providing a port to off load the supplies and material necessary to fight the war

Our last stop was the 4 gun battery at Longes Sur Mer, just down the road from Arromanches. We had tried to get dinner in Arromanches, as both of the restaurants near the beach had promising menus. Neither served dinner before 7pm. As it was 6:15pm, we opted to head to the battery and then return for dinner. On the access road down to the battery, there is a nice little restuarant called Chaumeire. We decided to dine there after checking out the guns. It didn't look too promising as we pulled in, no cars in the lot. Of course it was only a little after 7 and the French don't dine until at least 8. The lights were on and the tables set but the door was lock. We were turning to leave when Madame appeared and let us in. We ordered the Menu Terroir, local cousine. The food was great, we had a 1/2 bottle od Muscadet and a 1/2 bottle of Bordeaux (2005) as we still had driving to do (no cognac). Towards the end of our meal, a young man from Austria came in (the only other diner). He spoke no French, but his English was fair. He managed to get a beer and sat down at a table for 4. Madame tried to move him to a smaller table. It was pretty obvious to me what she wanted but he was clueless. I told him she wanted him to change tables and he complied. He then tried to order some food but Madame did not understand him. She turned an appealed to me for assistance. I asked the kid what he wanted, figuring I could point to the menu, tell him he was set, get our check and leave before his dinner was ready. Just some bread and cheese cam the repy. Easy. Madame, fromage y pain. Oh merci, merci, Monseiur.

Fred O'Rourke international translator.

Ham and Jam

This is Cpl. Robert Sullivan, 3rd Parachute Squadron R.E., and his wife. Cpl. Sullivan parachuted into Ranville, France, a few kilometers east from the Pegasus Bridge, in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944. He was sitting here having a beer with Mrs. Sullivan, when he saw Dave and said "Haven't I met you before?". He was not involved with the taking or holding Pegasus Bridge, but was involved in fighting to the east.

At 0051 hours, on June 6, 1944, Major John Howard and Company D, Brittish 6th Airborne Division landed in 3 Horsa Gliders, Howard's just 47 yards from the bridge, and the other two within 50 yards of Howard's glider. Their mission was to take the Bridge intact, and to hold it until relieved. They secured their objective within 15 minutes of landing. Two more Company D gliders landed on the opposite side of the Bridge and secured a second bridge two tenths of a mile east. Once the bridges were secure, Howard's wireless man began broadcasting the success signal, ham and jam, ham and jam. The bridges were important because they were the only means for Brittish troops landing at Sword Beach to cross the Orne River Canal and the Orne River. They also were the access to the invasion beaches for German Panzers. The bridges were held, and Major Howard's mission complete when Lord Lovat and his Commando Brigade arrived, their bagpiper announcing their arrival. On the eve of D-Day each year, the surviving members gather at the Gondree Cafe, which sits as it did then, at the west end of the Canal bridge, now called the Pegasus Bridge, in honour of the 6th Airborne, who's shoulder patch bore the image of Pegasus. None of the men who return have ever been charged for a drink at the cafe.

A few kilometers slightly Northeast of the bridges, lies the Merville Battery, a 6 gun battery that was part of Hitler's coastal defenses, known as Fortress Europe, and perfectly positioned to shell the Brittish invasion beaches. 600 members of the 9th Brittish Airborne were to be parachuted into the area in the early morning hours of D-Day, but the pilots could not find the drop zones and the men were scattered, many drowning in the area of the River Dives,which had been flooded by the Nazis. 150 men reached the assembly area and took the battery during the early hours of the invasion, preventing the beaches from being shell.

Dave and I arrived in Caen about 12:30 this afternoon, after a short Train ride from Paris. Our hotel, the Hotel de la Fontaine is clean but spartan. Our room is slightly larger than a prison cell but suited to our needs: two beds, two blankets, two towels, a shower, hot water and free wifi. After visiting Pegasus Bridge (which has a small, well done museum) and The Merville Battery, we had another late but wonderful dinner at the Martin Brasserrie. We shared Coquilles St. Jacques and escargot (oh ya, that's good). I had Veal Normande and Dave had duck, accompanied by a bottle of Lacoste Boire Paullac (2004), all superb. And for dessert, we asked the waiter what he would recommend, he said all of them and brought us a sampling of each dessert on the menu. We finished with a small glass of Calvados, the cognac of the liberation.

Tomorrow, Omaha Beach.

Au revoir, Paris

It is impossible to "do" Paris in 3 weeks, let alone 3 days. The City of Lights is like a giant buffet table and on your first visit, the tendency is to head right to the main entrees: Eiffel Tower, Arch de Triomphe, Notre Dame. After all, you may only get one pass at the table, and you want to make it count. But the second time around, you realize there is much more on the table: the breads, salads, cheeses, fruits, desserts. So many different aromas and tastes to be savoured. It is impossibe to fit it all on your plate. You must go back again and again, trying different things, one aroma leading to another. In the last 3 years, I have been to Paris 5 times (ok, so I'm padding my stats a little, 2 visits were at the ends of the same trip and two were less than 24 hours). Wednesday will make 6 when we stop to change trains and have lunch (I know counting that as a trip is akin to arod hitting an 8th inning homer in a 12-2 game). I have bearly scratched the surface. I've had the entrees, I'm just starting the breads. I hope to get back enough times to get desert. But Dave got off to a good start. He'll get into the breads next time. But it can wear you out.

In the meantime, I'm really going to miss these guys.

la fromage

The French are noted for their cheese, and this shop on the Isle of Ste Louis offers a fair sample of what’s available. Of course, man cannot live by cheese alone. The Isle of Ste. Louis is nestled in the Seine River just east of Notre Dame and it is the high rent district in Paris. Dave and I had lunch at a little crapearrie located just up the street from the shops pictured, a delicious Galatan Jambom Guyere (ham and cheese crepe) with a glass of Sancerre. After lunch, we walked up to the Bastille and then caught the subway back to the hotel.

Our day started a little after 8 this morning, waking refreshed after a good night’s sleep. After a shower, we had café at the hotel and decided to head over to the Invalides to assess the situation and to see if we could find a good spot to get a picture of the Pope saying Mass. Needless to say, we weren’t the only ones with the same mission. We debated crossing the barriers to get front and center but after some discussion, we decided that this would involve running from the police, and since the Gendarmerie are faster and more diligent than their Chilean counterparts and Dave and I are slower than Nick, we opted to cross the Seine near Place de Concord and walk up to spot directly across from the Altar, some 500 meters or so away. Dave was able to get a couple shots, one of which he plans to post on his blog. We think the white blob in the photo is the Pope.

At this point, Dave wanted to head back up to the Arch de Triomphe to take some video. Dave shoots video with a narrative slightly more detailed than his Christmas letter. My style is a little more smart assed, and I have tried to loosen it up a little. I’m sure all of you will enjoy his riveting description of climbing each of the 285 or so steps to the top of the Arch. Ken Burns will sleep well tonight. Oh, and somebody should tell this kid it’s not a good idea to go commando at a sword fight.

After leaving the Arch, we worked our way toward the Ritz. On the way, our thirst began to build. As fate would have it, we came across Kitty O’Shea’s Irish Pub and decided to sample a pint of Murphy’s Red. Our bar made was a delightful woman from the old sod who has lived in Paris for the past 26 years. But there was no mistaking her brogue. We chatted about this and that. Refreshed, we proceeded to the Ritz, where I showed Dave the Hemmingway Bar and the door through which Diana and Doti made their last and fateful exit. More riveting video to watch. I also used the men’s room in the lobby, Note the “shoe shield” at the bottom of the urinal. Apparently the rich and famous are not good aimers. We then ventured down to the Marriot. Lil and I stayed there in April when we visited Paris with the SU Trustees. It’s still there, dear. Next up was the Tuileries, then onto the Metro at Musee d’Orsay, destination Notre Dame.

Between 1940 and 1945, the Nazis deported 200,000 people from France to Concentration Camps, the Gendarmerie providing the manpower to round up those unfortunate souls and send them on their way. Their monument is located behind Norte Dame in a small, peaceful little park with some trees and some rose bushes. There is a small display board off to the right that explains the Nazi “policy” behind the deportation and some of the details, such as the different emblems used to identify your “offense. It conveniently omits the complicity of the Gendarmerie.

We then crossed the Seine and onto the Isle of Ste. Louis for our lunch. After the Bastille we headed back to the hotel. The highlight of our day was yet to come.

At a little after 7pm, we left the hotel for our 7:30 dinner reservation at l’Auberge Bressane, a bistro that I was introduced to by my good friend Steve Weiss , when I came to Paris to witness his award of the French Legion of Honor. On this occasion, Dave and I had the good fortune to have the services of Charles Tellier as our waiter. Charles discussed the night’s offerings with us, helping us select two hors-d'oeuvres , two entrees and wine, one white, one red. Our starters were raw salmon, seasoned with vinaigrette and red onions and served with sliced potatoes, and eggs with back bacon bits and a brown sauce. For the main course, I had sweetbreads, which was served in a copper pan with a cream sauce and Dave had frog legs, both of which were served with mashed potato. The white wine was a Pouilly Fume and the red, a 2002 haut medoc, which was exceptional. When Charles suggested dessert, we advised that we still had a third of a bottle of the medoc left and we would have that for dessert. Charles stated that he had some cheese that would complement the wine, so we agreed. The cheese, served with baguette, was exceptional, and runnier than an infant’s nose in the dead of winter. We then accepted an offer of café and cognac, the cognac was compliments of the house as was a chocolate soufflé, Charles explaining that our meal would not be complete without dessert. A truly exceptional dining experience.

After dinner, we walked back up to the Seine, crossed, and walked to the Champs Elysees to see the Arch de Triomphe lit up. On the way back, we dawdled long enough to see the Eiffel Tower glitter at 11pm sharp. Yes boys and girls, we are having a good time.

And by the way, New York City may have the dude in the white briefs near time square but Paris has Superman, Bag head guy and comic book guy from the Simpsons.

LAFAYETTE, WE ARE HERE!

We arrived in Paris pretty much on time. Customs was slow at first, but the must have added a couple agents at 8:30am as all of a sudden the line was booking, Dave had to check his bag at Logan as it was deemed too big. He was pretty psyched when it showed up at the baggage claim. So a pretty amazing trip so far: left on time (ok pulled away from the gate on time, waited in line for 35 minutes for take off) landed on time (actually touched the ground almost 20 minutes early, then spent 20 minutes getting to the gate and getting the door open) and no lost luggage Trifacta! AND THEN we got to the hotel about 10am and our room was ready. And we are in room 44. With the Express premiering in Syracuse tonight and Penn State in the Dome tomorrow, I hope it is a good omen. We are on a roll.

Once we had a chance to clean up a little, we secured coin of the realm and got ourselves some café and a croissant at a little place just down the street. We then made our way to Bistro Aberage to secure a 7:30pm dinner reservation for tomorrow night. The restaurant is near the Invalides and as we went by, we noticed a big stage with a group doing what appeared to us to be a run through of a Roman Catholic Mass. So I jokingly said to Dave, maybe the Pope is in town and going to say Mass here. After making our dinner arrangements, we walked toward the Eiffel Tower and lo and behold, we pass these big posters on the front of an RC Church announcing that the Pope will be saying mass tomorrow at the Invalides at 10am. Pretty swell of him to come to town to say Mass for us.

From the Eiffel Tower, we passed the spot over the tunnel were Diana and Doti Faod were killed. We walked south along the Seine and cut up to the Champs Elysees and to the Arc de Triomphe to pay our respects to the Unknown Soldier and all those who mort por France. We climbed up to the top of the Arch and got a fantastic view of Paris. And when I say climbed, it’s 284 steps up a spiral staircase. We then proceeded down the Champs Elysees, stopped at a sidewalk café and had lunch. I had Jambon de Paris (ham on a baguette with some moutard) and Dave had a club (chicken, lettuce, tomato and freshly made mayonnaise). The bread was just delicious as were the tomatoes. (I am not supposed to mention the pomme frits , so I won’t , go simvastatin---I’m going to be saying that a lot the next 12 days). After lunch, we continued down the Champs Elysees cut down to the Seine and followed it north back to le Hotel d’Orsay. Along the way, we passed the National Assembly and Place de Concord. The nickel tour of Paris.

Tomorrow, depending on how late we sleep (neither of us slept on the plane so it may be crash and burn time soon—5:45 pm local time) we will head over and see how close we can get to the Pope (Dave has a 55/200 telephoto lens). We will also head to Notre Dame, the Bastille and the Tuileries.

Now, where to go for dinner?

The itinerary

Dave and I have not gone on a trip together since 1961, when our Grandparents took us on the ferry from Bridgeport, CT to Port Jefferson, Long Island. It was quite an adventure for us. I was 6 1/2, Dave 5 1/2. Oh we have been to weddings, NYC and Nantucket together, but always with other family and/or friends in tow, not just the two of us (ok so Anga and Gramp went to LI with us but we needed a ride and financial backing). It will be the first time we have shared a room in about 35 years. We lived in the same room, shared the same dresser, closet,desk and bed for the first 14+ years of Dave's life. So it will be like old times.

We fly out on September 11 and arrive in Paris early on the 12th and stay three days. I have been to Paris several times and know my way around a little and a few good places to eat. We will see the sights and then on the 15th, head out to Normandy by train, rent a car and check out the D-Day sites. On the 17th, we will spend most of the day traveling by train to Amsterdam. We are staying with a friend of Dave's (Fox Mulder) and his wife. On the 19th, we will take the train to Frankfurt, rent a car and then visit Luxembourg, Bastogne, Kaysersberg, Mannheim, Heppenheim, back to Frankfurt on the 23rd, and home on the 24th. Our Father fought in WWII with Company G, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Division from mid October, 1944 to January 1946 in southern France and Germany. He was awarded the Bronze Star in Kaysersberg, France on December 17, 1944 and a Purple Heart on December 16, 1944 (and a second in January, 1945). He was awarded the Silver Star in Heppenheim, Germany on March 27, 1945.

This is our chance to see where Dad fought the war that we reanacted in the backyards of Enfield, CT. I am glad that Dave was able to do this and greatful to Lil and Carrie for letting us go. I will try to post entries every day (as long as we have wireless access) inorder that we can all share in the adventure together. Now I have to go and review my 103 item checklist to make sure I don't forget anything. There are a few of you who would never let me hear the end of that.