akv
09-09-2009, 20:52
I came across a post where someone mentioned visiting battlefields during the season of the battle. I haven’t actually done this specifically, but have visited Civil War battlefields, Pearl Harbor, and a few in Europe. Normandy and Ypres are hard to describe. Ypres had trenches left over from WW1, machine guns, mud and no penicillin. The sheer volume of artillery used was incredible, the guide told us a metal detector would short out there. As we were driving down rural roads you would see farmers leaving artillery shells by their mailboxes for collection, they are still plowing up ordinance and still have a few fatalities from time to time.
I believe every American should visit Normandy once. There are no words for the cemetery. Omaha Beach is like looking up into an open shoebox, the beach is enclosed by ridges to the front and either side. Point-Du-Hoc was simply amazing, men of the 2nd Ranger Battalion scaling sheer cliffs under machine gun fire.
I am grateful to our military and Veterans for their service then and now. I was wondering if there were other battlefields folks here would care to discuss or recommend.
I believe every American should visit Normandy once. There are no words for the cemetery. Omaha Beach is like looking up into an open shoebox, the beach is enclosed by ridges to the front and either side. Point-Du-Hoc was simply amazing, men of the 2nd Ranger Battalion scaling sheer cliffs under machine gun fire.
I am grateful to our military and Veterans for their service then and now. I was wondering if there were other battlefields folks here would care to discuss or recommend.