Visiting a World War II Site in France

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At the start of World War II, Germany had invaded Poland. Because of this, France, Canada, and Great Britain declared war on Germany. In about 6 weeks, Germany’s army invaded France and had taken over. In the year 1944, Germany had suspected the allies, now including the United States, would soon try to attack France in hope of freeing Europe from Germany’s possession. The allies decided to put a vast army at a beach named Normandy, located on the Northwest coast of France. On June 6, 1944, the allies landed on 5 beaches with the code names: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Utah and Omaha were America’s responsibility, while Gold, Juno, and Sword were Great Britains. After a long, restless, and bloody battle, the allies had beat Germany and had regained ownership of France. June 6, 1944 is remembered today as D-Day. The exact amount of casualties is unknown, but buried in Normandy American Cemetery in France, there are 9,387 United States servicemen and women. This summer, during the month of July, I went to visit France. I saw many things including designer stores, Notre Dame, and even the Eiffel Tower during its 120th anniversary. Though I had seen these amazing places, the only site that had made a remarkable impression on me was seeing the battlefield where so many soldiers all over the world had lost their lives in battle. I went to a few museums that had astonishing information on World War II, but nothing was like seeing the real beach where everything had happened almost exactly 65 years ago. If you looked out on the water you could see the remains of ships that have never been removed. There are still holes in the side of the hill that looks over the beach showing where trenches were and where the hill had been bombe... ... middle of paper ... ...d my sister screaming my name. I got out of the golf-cart and thanked the man and went to our little black rental car, where my dad was getting my little brother into his car seat. When we got to the car, I explained to everyone what had happened, still out of breath, and my dad said, “Wait, you were lost?” He did not even notice I was gone. In conclusion, when I was there, the feelings I had felt were feelings of sadness because all of these service men had lost their lives. I am also sad because I was not there to be part of the experience even though it was not a good one. Because I was born about 50 years after it had happened, I can never have a full understanding of what it was like. I also felt afraid not only because I was abandoned, but because I am scared a few generations from now, no one will know what happened on the dreadful morning of June 6, 1944.

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