It's later in the afternoon and we're boarding the bus for the trip to Bastogne. I had time to review some of the things I was at the beaches of Normandy and different places as we began to work our way inland. So, I came up with some pictures that I forgot I had, but I thought they would be interesting.
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This was a display at the museum at Normandy and it showed some of the major unit patches of the units that took part in the invasion. I am pointing here to the 83d Infantry Division patch which was part of the Omaha force. The 83d later was re-designated as the 83d ARCOM (ARmy COMmand) and was located in Columbus, OH. When I first enlisted in the Army Reserves, I was a member of the 342d MP Co. (EG) (Zanesville, OH) which was a Military Police Company whose function was serving as Escort Guards (EG) -- we transported enemy prisoners of war from a collection point to an enemy prisoner of war camp, some distance in the rear.
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Here I am pointing to the 5th Infantry Division patch (the red triangle). This was the patch of my old friend, Warren, a WWII veteran, who came to the fight some time after the beach landings. The 5th came ashore at UTAH.
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This PW (prisoner of war) beach cage sign was located only a few hundred yards from the beach.
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Here is a list of some of the units that supported the fight at the beaches and the move inland. There are two MP EG units listed -- the 301st and the 595th. The most important thing about this list is that these are company sized units (110 to 145 troops on average). When we think of Normandy, we most often think of units that are division sized (101st, 82d, 25th, etc.)(10,000 troops per division). But to me, it's interesting to see who the "little guys" were that were assigned or attached to and supported those larger groups and what their role was.
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After leaving the airport in Paris, we would travel through a number of small towns. It was kinda interesting to see signs like this when we stopped to see some of the towns and sights. I would often think of troops trying to navigate their way to an objective and coming upon a sign like this, wondering if it was real or planted, if it was pointing the correct way or not. Sure was a lot easier being part of a tour group.
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We stopped in a little town and visited the church and the town (village?) square. Right in the niddle of it was a water source which was used by everyone in the village, the Germans when they "owned" the place, and the Americans when it was theirs. The top picture is what it looks like today. The bottom one is an actual shot of Germans loading up on water. I seem to remember that there was a plaque on the back side of the spigot area which memorialized some American Soldiers who were killed there taking cover as they fought.
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Again, these were just some after thoughts as I reviewed my notes during the bus trip to Bastogne. Images of what I had seen popped in and out of my head and I wanted to include them. There was so much and I had to include them before I forgot them (happens a lot as I get older).
“Veterans know better than anyone else the price of freedom, for
they’ve suffered the scars of war. We can offer them no better tribute
than to protect what they have won for us." (President Ronald Reagan, 1983)
Hooah
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