2017 • Normandy
April 6, 2017 to April 8, 2017
Even before the Second World War, Normandy was rich in history, but after 1944, the beaches of Normandy took on a special significance in the fight against fascism and tyranny. On June 6, 1944, the allied forces of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, and other landed on these beaches to free, not only France, but the whole of Western Europe from the grip of Hitler’s Nazi Germany. After gaining the beaches, the allies were then able to push the Nazis out of Normandy and eventually out of France entirely, setting up Hitler’s eventual defeat. Today, the scars of the Second World War can still be seen in Normandy from old German gun batteries to the cemeteries meant to honor those that fell on that fateful day. Perhaps the most moving site that I visited was, indeed, the American Cemetery in Normandy. It was mind blowing to think that all of those young people, some as young as 16 (lying in order to fight), were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice—and some did—for the freedom of Europe and the world. Walking through the American Cemetery was incredibly sobering and inspiring at the same time. If those men could look pure evil in the face and prevail, there is no problem today that we cannot solve.
