(Bayeux, Normandy, France)

World War II can never be forgotten in Normandy. Until you visit here, it is difficult to comprehend the scale of what happened and how many people died.

We first visited Juno Beach (see photo at the top of this post) in the nearby village of Courseulles-Sur-Mer. This was just one of several landing sites during the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944…better known as “D-Day” (le jour J in French).  However, the troops that landed here were predominantly Canadian, while the other landing sites had predominantly American or British troops.

The Juno Beach Centre is located right by the beach and is best described as an interactive museum.  Although the focus is on D-Day, there is also a lot about Canadian life in the 1930s and 1940s, to put everything into context.  We spent quite a bit of time here; it is actually staffed by young Canadians who are approximately the same age as the Canadian soldiers who participated in the invasion of Normandy.

Particularly moving was the movie shown near the end of the “circuit”.  The ferocity and carnage of D-Day is very strongly conveyed, using a combination of actual footage and extremely convincing recreations.  We also took a brief guided tour of the beach and two bunkers that were part of the Nazi defence of the coast.

We then spent some time exploring the beach on our own. It is still a huge sandy beach that is slowly moving inland.  Today it is predominantly a place for leisure, and it is often difficult to imagine that so many people died here.  It is estimated that there were at least 10,000 Allied casualties on D-Day alone, with 4,414 confirmed dead.

There are 18 Allied war cemeteries in Normandy alone.  As we are relying on public transportation here, it was not practical for us to visit the nearby Canadian cemetery at Bény-sur-Mer.  However, the cemeteries are usually not reserved for one particular nationality, so we visited the cemetery in Bayeux instead.

Most of the dead at the Bayeux Cemetery are British, but a significant number of Canadians are buried there too.  There are even a few hundred German soldiers.  It was striking how young most of the fallen soldiers were (mostly 18-20 years old) and how many died on the same day.

This was my first time at a war cemetery.  It is hard to process so many graves in one place, particularly with the knowledge that Normandy alone has 24 World War II cemeteries (including six predominantly German ones).  In Bayeux, there are nearly 5,000 soldiers buried.  A significant number are not identified, but contain the soldier’s nationality and the phrase “Known unto God”.

It was often challenging to reconcile the paddleboards and sandcastles at Courseulles-sur-Mer, or the shouts that came from the soccer field near the Bayeux Cemetery, with the Battle of Normandy.  However, our Juno Beach guide reminded us that the war was fought to preserve the freedoms (including leisure time) that we enjoy so much today.