The french countryside is so beautiful and peaceful. When you are submerged in this environment it is incredible to think about the war that swept through this tranquil place.Yet everywhere you are reminded here, as you drive through the fields of golden grass and a monument pops up out of nowhere to the paratroopers who lost their lives in that location. Right in the middle of someone’s family farm.

I wasn’t sure what to think as we went to see these areas. I guess in my heart I thought these sights were more for my husband and son. But as we pulled into the parking lot over Omaha beach I was overcome with emotion. The cliffs tower in the distance and you know what happened there. How those brave young men must have felt and how they must have hoped that this sacrifice would end the war.  As Americans we should all see this land and these museums. At Ponte Du Hoc the craters from the bombs are still there. The landscape is pitted. I think it is hard for Americans to imagine what it’s like when war suddenly sweeps through your life, your home. Outside of 9/11 and Pearl Harbor we have been lucky. But seeing in person this gorgeous land of golden grass and turquoise water pitted and torn from war you realize how blessed we are and the sacrifices the rest of the world has made.

At the DDay memorial there is a dedication that says the French built this to remind everyone that the French people value peace above all else. We all should.