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June 7-10, 2019

75th Anniversary of D-Day

Despite the fact that we only had 2,5 days in France, we managed to see A LOT. Saturday, June 8th, started with a visit to Sainte-Mère-Église. Butler's Military & Vintage, Airborne Museum and the well-known church, where one of the paratroopers, an American named John Steele, got his parachute caught on the steeple back in 1944. From there we moved on to Boutteville to see the memorial to the Army Nurses and medical staff of the 91st and 128th Evacuation hospitals. Our next stop was Chateau de Colombière in Hiesville, where members of HBT'44 recreated a field hospital of the 101st Airborne Division (326th AMC). In the afternoon we went to Carentan to participate in WWII American Women Parade. On our way back we stopped at Bayeux and Courseulles-sur-mer to see Juno Beach.

On the morning of June 9th we went to Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-mer and after that to Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer to participate in a ceremony dedicated to all women involved in the war effort of Allied countries during World War II (Omaha's Nurses Return). We were honored by the presence of five Rosies the Riveters who worked in American factories and shipyards during the war. Following the ceremony we moved to Pointe du Hoc, Big Red One Museum in Colleville and Arromanches.

Our last day in France was June 10th. A very important date to us because on this day, exactly 75 years earlier, first American Nurses arrived to Normandy. They disembarked at Utah Beach which was also our destination for that day. Wearing field uniforms and full equipment including steel helmets, life belts, gas mask bags and musette bags, we attempted to recreate the arrival of Army Nurses to Normandy. Our last stop before the airport was the Dead Man's Corner in Saint-Côme-du-Mont.

We enjoyed every minute of our short trip to Normandy. The weather was very Normandy-like - a bit of sunshine mixed with rain and wind. We would like to thank everyone who crossed our path and made this trip even more enjoyable!

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