Hi! Just received a few pictures from the 'D-Day+60 Years' trip me and a few friends made. We had a marvelous stay right on Gold Beach, but I found the ceremonies a little to crowded with too much carnival-sphere. The 50th anniversary was better.... However, we had some great moments, the drop at Angoville-Au-Plain on 5th june by some re-enactors from a dakota was great, with 2 veterans at the site and only about 100 spectators. One of the veterans had broken his leg on the jump in 1944 and was taken to the church that was a first aid station. the village changed hands a few times the next couple of days, but the medics kept working on the wounded. In the church you can still see the blood of the wounded on the benches.... Imagine, after 60 years.... Well, I hope I can post a few pictures here, instead of in the topic about Italy! First one is the Mulberry seen from our little home on the beach:
That's a tree-landing..... There even was a guy who landed in the middle of a terrass-table of some local French farmer! Hope you guys like them.... We have a few hundred more of this stuff..... I might post a few more later! Greetz!
Great pics, especially the dakota! From my point of view I thought the whole event was magic. Something to cherish never to be repeated on such a scale (and never had been before). I have completed my photo album and now need to do the webversion once I have somehow sorted the 8-900 or so images out Ryan
Well, The festivities and ceremonies were really great, especially the landing craft beaching at Gold beach and the fireworks on June 5th were something to remember, and the trip in its whole was just magnificent, just to crowded at some places, which makes the authencity of the spots suffer, like Pegassus bridge, Ranville or Ste Mère Eglise... We also have together about 1000 pictures and about 1 hour long dvd made....
Great photos. The third one, of the stick coming in with others on the ground is my favourite. I haven't stared at it, but there is no obvious sign of modern life, it could be from the day (knowing most of the drops happened at night). Ali
yes, that's what I mean with authenticity, at the drop were only a few tourist and about 50 re-enactors, so that was really great, it was a strange experience, first going to Ste Mère Eglise and Ste Marie Du Mont, where you could make a tour of the town from head to head without once touching the ground, and then driving through the bocage-country and stopping in Angoville and seeing practically nobody.... The same on Gold beach; 1km from Asnelles, where we stayed, there was nobody.... I even went for a swin on D-day morning! Later that week, we drove back to the Cotentin and made a few pictures, re-enacting some scenes where famous pictures were taken (St Marcouf and Ravenoville) without seeing more than 5 people around. That is what makes the experiences so great! I will post some re-enacting pictures from my group later (we only have 3 members.... :P )
As promised, some more pictures from Normandy, this time some re-enactment! This one is in front of the Ste Mère Eglise church:
This is also one you guys might recognise: Taken at Ferme Marmion between Ravenoville and Foucarville:
Great pix, but just one comparison. My husband, a former airborne soldier, looked and said the real thing, 1944 version, were younger and fitter. As he put it "they had less fat on them than a butcher's pencil" - one of the more printable of his quaint terms!
Yes, it is true, only one comparison, the other one with the flag is on its way, the pictures were taken at the original places, you can be sure of that! And about the fat, by the time these paras turned 35, like we do, they looked the same as we do now.... This hobby is to expensive for 18-year-olds, so first find the money, than the uniform and underway, get somewhat fatter! <_< And the weapons, yes, it was a legal thing, I don't want to risk loosing a weapon or getting a fine and in trouble just for historical accuracy, you know!
Originally posted by Baldblutch@Aug 13 2004, 07:04 PM And about the fat, by the time these paras turned 35, like we do, they looked the same as we do now.... This hobby is to expensive for 18-year-olds, so first find the money, than the uniform and underway, get somewhat fatter! <_< Point taken and no offence meant. I think he was referring to how young and fit your average airborne soldier actually is.
Well, of course, re-enacting is a hobby that is especially interesting during the long big band nights, and being a Belgian, that means we like to take life the easy way, hence the fat.....
