150 French and American soldiers participated this Tuesday, June 4 in the morning in an exercise on Omaha Beach, where, almost 80 years earlier, more than 34,000 men landed.
For these two friends who came to camp in the Omaha beach area this week of the 80th anniversary of the Landings, waking up was somewhat confusing this Tuesday morning. “Osaw large warships. It gives you chills“, confides Jean-François. Offshore, the amphibious helicopter carrier (PHA) stands out on the horizon, behind the Mistral of the French Navy and the USS Oak Hill, of the US Navy. Then two barges and several light boats appear and head, at full speed, towards the sand.
On board, around a hundred soldiers, French and American, are equipped with all modern equipment such as cameras attached to helmets. The boats barely have time to stop before they jump into the water and rush onto the beach. For the two camper friends, the show inevitably refers to other images anchored in History. “We know that 80 years ago, thousands and thousands of people like that landed here and were killed for liberation. These memories automatically give shivers“, says Pascal.
Mission accomplished for these French and American soldiers on Omaha beach this Tuesday morning
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© Gwenaëlle Louis/France 3 Normandie Caen
Among the few privileged observers this Tuesday morning (the operation, like D-Day, was organized with the greatest discretion), Luc, a teacher at the Cherbourg maritime high school, came with his students to attend commemorations. “I am a native of Port-en-Bessin and I am used to this site. I think it’s good that we’re giving information to young people who aren’t too aware of it at the moment. There is an emotion because the site is already charged with emotion. And to see these almost young soldiers show their know-how, it’s good“, judges the professor. A little further, an officer cannot hold back a certain emotion. “I worked for three years in the amphibious flotilla. It’s something to see your comrades land on the beach and we can, through this event, imagine what it must have been like on D-Day.“
For Lieutenant Jeff, in charge of the amphibious commando group, feelings a priori have no place on the battlefield. “When you do an exercise, an operation, you are always focused on your subject and you think about your mission, nothing but your mission.“And to add:”Sometimes, in action, we also forget to think. It happens.“The reserve officer, however, is not insensitive to the symbolic significance of the place.”It was nice, if I may“, he admits, with a hint of a smile. “Put yourself in their place (the soldiers who landed 80 years earlier), It’s difficult given the conditions they experienced. In any case, we try to pay tribute to them today. That’s what counts.“
An exercise of the same type should be organized in the coming days on another emblematic beach of the Landings
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© Gwenaëlle Louis/France 3 Normandie Caen
Offshore, while waiting for the green light, some tried to look back 80 years. “We looked at the beach, we tried to imagine that we were in barges. We tried to imagine what they felt 80 years ago with the fortifications in front of them, the positions held, the bullets ricocheting off the boats. It’s quite strong. Last night, we got into the swing of things. The film “The Longest Day” was shown on board the Mistral. We tried to get in the mood“, says Lieutenant Jérémie, of the 13th demi-brigade of the foreign legion. “We are proud and happy to have the opportunity to honor our alumni by doing the same thing as them.”
An exercise of the same type should be organized in the coming days on another emblematic beach of the Landings.
