Thursday, June 6, 2024
Today marked the 80th Anniversary of World War II's most important moment, the Allied D-Day Invasion of Europe on the bloody beaches of Normandy, France.
I have visited Normandy on three
separate occasions
My first trip to this 50 mile long stretch of sacred ground was a moving, solo visit in November of 2012.
I returned with my bride, Laurie, in tow in May of 2013 on Memorial Day weekend. We were both equally in awe of the sacrifices these men made to defeat the Nazi forces on that long ago day.
My final trip to Normandy was in October of 2017 with Mark Johnson, Loren and Sandy Brucker. It was the first visit for all three of them that was made even more emotional since both Mark and Loren had fathers who fought and survived on these beaches.
Today Omaha Beach and . . .
. . . Utah Beach are peaceful and serene
Loren's and Mark's fathers both landed at Utah Beach.
The main brunt of the American forces, 73,000 soldiers, landed at Omaha Beach and Utah Beach.
An additional 61,700 British troops landed on nearby Gold Beach and Sword Beach.
Canadian forces numbering 21,400 landed at Juno Beach.
These landing forces also had a sprinkling of men in action who hailed from Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway and Poland.
The costs on D-Day were severe. A total of 4,414 Allied soldiers lost their lives on D-Day alone with another 5,000+ wounded.
D-Day was not the end all, the ensuing Battle of Normandy would not end until June 30, 1944. In the span of a mere 25 days, the Allies suffered 73,000 deaths and 153,000 wounded. Furthermore, 20,000 French civilians lost their lives during the intense fighting.
All gave some, some gave all
The American Cemetery on the
bluff overlooking Omaha Beach
Truly hallowed ground.
Meanwhile, at Newbury Park HS . . .
We received this text message
about NPHS's Boat Races today
Our son Michael and a fellow teacher
had entered a boat in the races
These two were predicted to
provide stiff competition in
the lone Teachers and Staff Race
Only four things were allowed in the construction of the sea worthy crafts.
First and most importantly, all needed to use their imagination and/or creativity.
The only two building materials allowed were cardboard and duct tape. The local Home Depot was happy about these rules and really should have been a sponsor today.
Finally, if you wanted to paint your vessel you could.
Michael all decked out to skipper
his vintage war ship
No regulation oars are allowed but improvisation was encouraged, thus the shovel.
It was obviously patterned after the
famous Swedish Royal War Ship Vasa
The Vasa was launched by the then mighty Swedish Navy in 1628. Its maiden voyage left Stockholm's harbor and traveled a whopping 1,300 meters/1,420 yards before unceremoniously sinking to the harbor's bottom.
Investigations into the Vasa's sinking resulted in the findings that the war ship was both overloaded and extremely top heavy on its long ago, lone mini-voyage.
The Vasa sat at the bottom of Stockholm's harbor for 333 years until it was raised in 1961. It currently sits in the fabulous Vasa Museum in Stockholm. We've visited it on a couple of occasions and highly recommend that you do the same on your next visit to the wonderful Swedish capital.
Hopefully, Michael had learned from the Vasa's design flaws.
There would be four heats of student
vessels plus the Teacher/Staff race
The winners of the four student heats would then face each other for the coveted Regatta Cup after the Teacher/Staff competition.
On to the First Heat . . .
Interesting Water Taxi
THEY'RE OFF!
They won their heat
Heat Two saw this craft disqualified
due to the use of two highly illegal
seahorses for propulsion
Disaster but all hands survived
The Floaters were declared the
winners of Heat Two
Michael helping these sailors
board their ship
The two girls nearest
us won Heat Three
They far outpaced our sailors
Heat Four was all about the black
Titanic ship in the middle
The four finalists in the student division now set, it was time for the Teacher/Staff race.
Time for the launch . . .
. . . IT FLOATS!
The first of the two shipmates
was safely aboard
Fully loaded and ready to . . .
. . . SINK!
Oh, the humanity of it all!
Suddenly, the Vasa's journey seemed
like an around the world voyage
Wet but determined, the crew persevered
Keep moving
They somehow finished
On to dry dock for much needed repairs
Overloaded and top heavy just like the Vasa in my expert nautical opinion.
The Student Final was INTENSE!
Tragedy at sea
It was over, the Floaters, winners
of Heat Two, were going home
with the much sought after the Tiffany
& Co. made 2024 NPHS Regatta Cup
A day that brings both sober reflection and later laughter is good in my opinion.
