Mike's Travel Snaps

St. Mere Eglise St. Mere Eglise was the target of the 82nd Airborne on D-Day, and the town's central church was to play a memorable part in the day's history. The parachute of American paratrooper Private John Steel caught on the steeple, leaving him dangling helplessly while the German killed many in his company. In the 1962 D-Day movie The Longest Day, Red Buttons portrayed Pvt. Steel. To see details of the church's stained-glass window which commemorates D-Day (complete with a background composed of descending parachutes), click here.	Click on the above image to see a larger version.
St. Mere Eglise The church has a figure suspended from the steeple in the same manner as Private Steel on the morning of D-Day.	Click on the above image to see a larger version.
St. Mere Eglise A closer shot of the figure dangling from the steeple. Here's my question to you: does hanging such a figure from a historic church make history come alive, allowing you to visualize the events of June 6, 1944, in a way that no book ever could? Or is this an example of shameless exploitation, making an actual working church more "touristy" so that the town can make more money from visitors? What do you think?	Click on the above image to see a larger version.
St. Mere Eglise On the streets of St. Mere Eglise, the town has provided a series of signs which feature photos and captions highlighting some of the World World II history of the town. After viewing the photographs taken during the war, I was amazed at how little the town had changed in 60 years. In America, we're quite used to buildings even a couple of decades old being razed and replaced. I took a couple of photos of the WWII-era images from the signs and then snapped the corresponding 2002 shot to illustrate this remarkable continuity over time. This image is looking north along the main street of the town (now called Rue General de Gaulle -- see map).	Click on the above image to see a larger version. Click on the above image to see a larger version.
St. Mere Eglise
Click on the above image to see a larger version.	Click on the above image to see a larger version.
Here are period and contemporary photos looking northeast on what is now called Place du 6 Juin, although obviously it wasn't called that when the original photo was taken. Place du 6 Juin is a horseshoe-shaped road that encircles the church seen above (see map). The low wall in the bottom right of the photos marks the perimeter of the churchyard.
St. Mere Eglise Looking north on Rue General de Gaulle from in front of the church. If you look closely on the sidewalk in front of the red-fronted shop labelled "Dom Tartine," you can see one of the signs which has the period pictures and history text.	Click on the above image to see a larger version.
St. Mere Eglise Looking south on Rue General de Gaulle. Except for a few signs here and there on the shop fronts, the town looks very much like it did to soldiers during the Normandy campaign.	Click on the above image to see a larger version.
Utah Beach In addition to Omaha Beach, Utah Beach was the other planned landing site for American forces on D-Day. Read a bit about Utah Beach here. See an aerial photo of Utah Beach on the morning of D-Day here. Read a first-person account of the landing on Utah Beach here. There's a brief page on the Utah Beach American Memorial by the American Battle Monuments Commission.	Click on the above image to see a larger version.
Utah Beach A memorial to those lost from the 90th Infantry Division of the U.S., from Utah Beach. Read more on the 90th Infantry on D-Day and beyond here and here.	Click on the above image to see a larger version.