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Stef's Dad Visits Grünsfeld
June 2 - 15, 2004

From June 1st to June 15th, Stefanie's Dad braved the harsh flying conditions and spent a week in Europe with us. He arrived early in the morning on June 2nd, got a quick tour of Giebelstadt (while Stef did the mail run), ate "Little Asia" for dinner then set off the next morning for France.

Stef's Dad arrived in the morning on June 2 nd . Stef picked him up from the Airport in Frankfurt and did a great job of fighting the jet lag and keeping him awake all day. I came home from work around 6pm and we ate Asian style rice from Little Asia—my favorite Asian restaurant here! After that we finished packing, loaded the van and went to bed. We were going to France with two other families—the Brewsters with 4 children and the Beebes with 2 children. All together we would be camping with 7 adults and 9 children. We were certainly in for an exciting time. We originally planned to leave at 5am and then we would join the other families at the campsite but we decided to sleep a bit longer and didn't hit the road till 7:30am . The weather was cool and a bit damp but not bad for driving. We entered France and subsequently missed the Esso gas station (where we can use our price controlled vouchers that make gas $1.80 or so) which meant that we would have to pay normal European prices. How much do the Europeans pay for gas? Hold on to your bunk—1.15 Euros per liter…which is equal to $1.45 per liter. There are 3.7854 liters in a gallon…so…hold on…gas was an amazing $5.44 a gallon! Here is a picture of the gas pump when I filled it up in France . The Prix (price) is 108 Euros. The current exchange is $1.20 = 1 Euro. That tank of gas cost $135! WOW! Can you believe that? Its funny to hear the people in the states complain, but after paying over a hundred bucks to fill up they got nothing on me! Fortunately, we planned for having to pay for gas. Our vouchers only work in Germany so we knew we would have to pay. Speaking of paying, another annoying thing about France was their toll booths. We must have paid over $40 in tolls to drive on their autobahn (one way).

After we hit our first toll booth, we drove up on the Beebes. They said they would leave at 3am but since they live 1 hour closer to France than us, it was apparent that they left much later than that. We stopped at a rest stop and talked. The rest room was a brick building but it was over an open pit in the ground. So you pooped or peed into a hole like an outhouse! I didn't have to use it.

From there we drove together at 78 mph It seemed to be the best speed to save gas but still get there quickly. I would have rather driven much faster but as it turns out, the speed limit in France is about 80m.p.h (even though we were on the autobahn). So, together we drove on. We hit Paris just after lunch time and although we were going around the outskirts of the city, we still got stuck in traffic. While stuck we managed to spot the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

We finally made it to our campsite at around 6pm . Immediately we saw WWII vehicles and uniforms and everything you could imagine that would make it look like you were there during the invasion! It was impressive. Many of the people were dressed in authentic uniforms of the Allied Armies and I must tell you that they were not actors or paid participants. They were just normal people who came to partake in the festivities! It was cool!

We signed in and went to our campsite to set up. Within a few minutes of arriving, the Brewsters showed up so we all worked to set up camp. It was a really nice campsite complete with running water, washer/dryer, hot showers, indoor pool and a restaurant. We were excited to say the least. After we set up our tents (I hadn't used them since 2000) I walked to the gate closest to the beach. I climbed up on the top slat of the fence and was facing Omaha Beach ! We were only 500 meters from the beach itself! The thing to realize is that the various landing beaches were spread for many miles on the Normandy coast but it was amazing to be camping right there! We were actually at the intersection of Omaha ( American Beach ) and Gold ( British Beach ). Looking out towards the beach—to our left was Omaha Beach , Point du Hoc, St Mere Eglise and Utah Beach .

We spent the first night relaxing and planning our weekend. We got there on June 3 rd . The special events would be held on June 6 th but there was plenty to do every day.

On the morning of the 4 th we (Tim, Matt and I) went on a run/walk on the beach. We went at sunrise and looked out of some of the bunkers and tried to imagine what the Germans saw that morning 60 years ago. Truly an awe inspiring moment!

We returned back to the campsite, had breakfast then left for the day. We went to the American Cemetery in Colleville Sur Mer (yes, that is the place you saw on TV—but I will tell you more in a minute). This cemetery contains over 9,000 US soldiers who died during WWII. One thing to remember is that not all of them die while assaulting the beaches. Instead, they died during all phases of the campaign. It is a beautiful cemetery and it overlooks the bluffs onto Omaha Beach which was the bloodiest beach on that day. If you saw Saving Private Ryan, then you are familiar with Omaha Beach because that is where combat opens! The movie itself actually opens in the American Cemetery at Colleville then flashes back to the beach on D-Day.

It was very damp and misty this day. We weren't going to be rained out so we continued on and the skies actually cleared throughout the day. While there we also picked up our official credentials that would give us access to the US Sponsored events. Due to security you had to have a pass to be able to drive on some roads during the various ceremonies.

After visiting the cemetery we drove to Point du Hoc which is where the 2 nd Rangers assaulted 100' cliffs in the face of heavy enemy fire in order to knock out some large cannons. This place is preserved and still has the bomb craters and blown up gun emplacements on the cliff! Again, another amazing site to see. While there, I met up with my buddy Glenn (you read about him in my Iraq journals). He was there on an official mission to fly in support of President Bush! Glenn was to fly the secret service and press corps.

The following day, June 5 th , marked the anniversary of the parachute and glider drops in the area surrounding St. Mere Eglise. At the drop zone, the 82 nd Airborne, 101 st Airborne, 173 rd Airborne and Ranger Battalion were all parachuting in again, 60 years later! We left early but our attempt was futile because we ran into much traffic when we were nearly there. The jumps were scheduled for 1:30pm at the original drop zone and we were parking just minutes before they began. We walked to a bus, and sat in the bus as the first drop happened. The drive took us to the drop zone where we arrived just in time to watch 3 or 4 more jumps happen! Again, WOW! How awesome to be standing in the place where 15,000 paratroopers landed in a dark night 60 years ago! It was a hot day but we endured and watched all the paratroopers safely land in the farmers field. We crossed the bridge that was one of the objectives of that night and enjoyed seeing all the veterans who made the reunion trip!

After the jump we went to the town of St Mere Eglise and absorbed the history of it. In this town, one paratrooper—George Steel—got hung up when his parachute draped over the church steeple and he hung there for many hours. He was shot in the foot and finally captured but managed to escape in the following days. Every year, the town hangs a replica of George Steel from the church steeple in memory of the great soldiers who liberated their town!

As with the rest of the region, there were thousands of people dressed in replica soldier uniforms from that time period. Amazing.

That night we walked to the cliffs overlooking the beach and watched as fireworks lit up the night sky from every city along the landing beaches. They lasted about 20 minutes and appeared to be time at all the beaches which were miles apart.

Tim, Matt and I decided to head off alone on the following day, D-Day plus 60 years. We all wanted a chance to see the President up close or to at least be somewhere with him...we all thought that would be an extreme honor! So, at 7am we departed for the American Cemetery at Colleville. Off the coast we could see US Warships looming on the horizon—a not-so-subtle reminder of the security surrounding this event. We took our seats which were nearly at the back of the event but decided to give them up and try to walk closer to the speakers. We managed to get within 100' of the podium (where the speakers would address the audience). There were many secret service agents (French and US) there to protect the Presidents. From our vantage point, as you can see, we could clearly see and hear both the President of the United States and France ! So, yes, as you saw this ceremony TV (they laid a wreath at the memorial and spoke to a crowd of thousands). I also saw Tom Hanks there and I saw later that Steven Spielberg was there too.

The next morning we went to Dog Green—the far left sector of Omaha Beach . Dog Green is where Saving Private Ryan really opened and I had to see it after reading more about in in the book, “D-Day” that you read many years ago. Here are a few pictures from there. The picture on the left was taken while standing inside one of the German bunkers which, for a few hours at least, dominated the beaches as the invasion force landed. What a commanding view of the whole thing! The one on the right is taken while standing in the water looking at the Dog-1 exit from the beach. This is the exit that Tom Hanks, in Saving Private Ryan, says, “Dog-1 is not clear.” From this point, at the waters edge, you can truly see how hard it must have been to make it on the beach.

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