Mckenna's photo (1 Viewer)

[sammy719]

Hi all, our fellow member and solid dude Chris Mckenna took some awesome photos on a recent trip to Normandy, here is one of the Grave sites in Normandy (Omaha Beach I believe) as I told him.."eerily beautiful"

​



​

​

​

​

 

[Larry Allen]

A wonderful and emotionally charged photograph.

Forget the the amount of money, the material used or even the lost of buildings .....

THIS IS THE TRUE COST OF WAR .....:redface2: {sm2}

--- LaRRy

 

[jazzeum]

For those who go to Normandy, there are grave sites lovingly maintained by the Commonwealth Graves Commission all over the area, some very small in size and some large ones, all very moving. I will see if I can find the photos from our trip there 13 years ago.

 

[MCKENNA77]

I'll put a few more but be advised I took over 1500 photos on the trip and just getting that sorted when I returned was a pain. That whole photobucket thing also put me in for a serious loop as I pretty much hate technology.

We did visit the Normandy area and did spend some time at some of the invasion areas. Keep in mind the Allied invasion zone stretched for 54 miles so you cant really see everything at Wallyworld in one day.



This is the American cemetery at Omaha. The picture is of a memorial called the Wall of the Missing. There are 1,500 names on it, mostly of men who drowned during the invasion.



This is the entry way sculpture at the cemetery. It represents the American youth rising from the tide.



There are a lot of crosses here because you can't really have a world war without dead people. People place pine cones here following in the Yiddish tradition of putting stones on a grave to represent eternity. There are not stones nearby, so people improvise.



There are four women buried here. They were brought over as postal mail workers so US GI's could receive letters from home. When they arrived there was a backlog of 2.5 million pieces of mail. They got it situated in just 2 months. Unfortunately, one day their jeep hit a landmine. The driver and front passenger were killed upon impact. Dolores died 5 days later. We thank you for your service Dolores.

 

[MCKENNA77]

A 500 pound bomb crater at Point Du Hoc



Even though my finger jacked this photo up you can get a sense for what the 2nd Rangers had to endure in their climb to the top



The Allies called this a Tobruk for when it was first witnessed as a type of defense. It was claimed to be invented by Rommel himself and that the Germans in North Africa first started out with it by using an oil drum in the sand. A soldier with an MG42 would normally be placed here



This memorial tribute resides very near the actual location where Major Winters(Band of Brothers) over took 4 German artillery positions with just 12 men.



Me and KGB at Utah

 

[MCKENNA77]

This is a German communication bunker at Utah beach. The Germans use to paint windows on the sides of the bunkers in an effort of camo them and make it look like houses. It looks foolish close up but the further away you are the more you realize how intelligent it is.



This is a photo from an Allied plane bombing attack at Utah. A massive reason the landing at Utah was easier was the direct strike the bombing groups landed on the German gun emplacements.



The hedgerows or bocage here is pretty serious. This photo is some that are kept up. You could very easily have a whole company of dudes on the other side and be clueless about it.





The manor where me and KGB stayed at which resided about 6km from Utah beach. The structure was built in the 16th century and was directly involved in an Allied situation with a guy named Summers and the battle of position for WXYZ. It's a really cool story but too much to type here. Google it to get the full low down.

 

[MCKENNA77]

Just a few more random photos and one from Mount St Michel

Keep it silly

 

[sammy719]

Thanks for posting Chris, it was good to revisit the photos, the good wife was really impressed so hopefully our future vacation willl have a visit to Normandy.

 

[Louis Badolato]

Great photos Chris!^&cool^&cool I'm glad you and KGB had the opportunity to see Normandy in person. It is on my bucket list to go there. When I look at those crosses, all I can think of is two things: the tragic loss of so many brave young men and women, and thank you all for making the ultimate sacrifice to give all of us our lives.

 

[Artillery_crazy]

Hi Chris,
Thanks for sharing these pics! 1,500 shots.....what a nice all inclusive album of Normandy that would make!
I need to go back during summer....you see so much more, and the weather/sky provide the best settings....I was there some time ago during Autumn and the wind was a killer {sm4}{sm4}{sm4}{sm4}

Cheers
Luiz

 

[Artillery_crazy]

Hi Chris,
Drop us a note when you have loaded the pics of the visit to the FFL Museum and barracks....
Cheers
Luiz

 

[MCKENNA77]

Hi Chris,
Drop us a note when you have loaded the pics of the visit to the FFL Museum and barracks....
Cheers
Luiz

They're on there dude, take a gander

 

[Artillery_crazy]

Thanks a lot...really interesting all the pics...left my comments on the thread....the FFL Museum and Normandy are a to do in summer....
Cheers
Luiz