American Tour

On the morning of June 6th, 1944, two medics from the 101st Airborne set up an aid station inside the church of Angoville au Plain. For the next two days they would treat over 80 men, both German and American. Although this is a less known site, the significance of the church and the heroics of the medics still live on today. The church has been left intact almost exactly as it was during the invasion and there are still traces of the heavy fighting that mar the building. As we walk through you will be able to see the area where the medics treated their patients as well as the benches that are still stained with the blood of the wounded from 1944.

The westernmost landing beach, codenamed Utah, is an area where over 23,000 American troops landed on June 6th, 1944. Despite the troops being forced to land in the wrong area, which we will cover in more detail during the tour, this beach was a successful and vital part of the invasion. Touring the beach, you will visit the iconic area where Theodore Roosevelt Jr. earned the Medal of Honor and learn more of the brave men who fought there led by the son of a former U.S. President.

One of the most symbolic sites in the Airborne sector is St. Mère Eglise, a small peaceful
village where paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne were misdropped during the early morning of June 6th. Many recognize the iconic church in St. Mère Eglise, where there is a paratrooper hanging from the church steeple by his parachute. Join us as we go in the footsteps of some of the Airborne and tell of the first-hand accounts of this drop from the view of the civilians and paratroopers.

On June 6th, 1944, 225 men of the 2nd Rangers Battalion were given the difficult mission of climbing the 100-foot cliff of Pointe Du Hoc to neutralize a strategic German fortification. Today this hallowed ground serves as a symbol of the allied landing and of the high cost of the invasion. The scars of war, including the craters created by the allied naval and air bombardment on June 6th and the previous months, can still be found at Pointe Du Hoc. You will also appreciate the complexity of the German defenses as you explore the bunkers left here exactly as they were in 1944.

Gazing across the beautiful beach to the English Channel, it’s hard to imagine the carnage that took place in this now peaceful area. On June 6th, 1944, over 34,000 American troops landed on Omaha Beach, a five-mile expanse of land. Of the five beaches that were assaulted that day, Omaha Beach suffered approximately 3,500 casualties, a number even greater than the sum of the other four allied beaches.
As you walk across sections of the beach and view the ground where some of these men
lost their lives, you will have a better understanding of why this beach was given the
nickname “Bloody Omaha”.

The day concludes with a moving visit to the Normandy American Cemetery, an expanse of 172.5 acres. You will view the final resting place of over 9,300 American military, a poignant reminder of the high price of freedom. The Normandy American Cemetery pays tribute to these brave men and women, many of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. We will recount some of the personal stories behind a few of the individuals who are buried here and reflect and remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.