Normandy 2024, 80 years after D-Day: Each year, there are commemorations of D-Day, but every five years, there are numerous ceremonies across Normandy to pay tribute to the soldiers who fought here in 1944. Members of the Dutch military vehicle owners association Keep Them Rolling were invited by the French municipality of Lantheuil to attend and contribute to the D-Day celebrations and commemorations in Normandy. Together with other members of Keep Them Rolling, we and our Second World War vehicles were accommodated on a well-equipped campsite. On the second of June, we arrived in Normandy to join the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
D-Day, 6 June 1944, was the first day of Operation Overlord, the Allied code-name for the Battle of Normandy, the successful Western Allied invasion of Normandy during The Second World War and the beginning of the liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe. D-Day is known as the largest amphibious invasion in military history. Nowadays, many memorials, cemeteries and museums along the coast of Normandy commemorate D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. We visited a number of museums and memorials, including the Maisy Battery and the historic Fortifications of Vauban at Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue; during the Second World War, these centuries-old unique fortifications were integrated into the Atlantic Wall. The Normandy Victory Museum was opened on 19 May 2017 and is well worth a visit; it is counted among the most significant museums in Normandy. We also paid a visit to the British Normandy Memorial, an imposing monument that was opened in 2021. On the 4th of June, a static show of Second World War military vehicles was held on our campsite for the schoolchildren of Lantheuil, organised by the members of Keep Them Rolling.
At sunset on 6 June 2024, an impressive commemoration took place on Juno Beach, in front of Canada House in Bernières-sur-Mer. On the 8th of June, members of Keep Them Rolling laid a floral wreath at the memorial – a Sherman DD Tank – in Courseulles-sur-Mer. We also went to Bayeux to visit the world-famous Bayeux Tapestry, a 70-metre-long medieval embroidery. After a week full of commemorations, we went to Brittany to visit the standing stones in Carnac. On our way home, we stopped in the city of Arras to visit the citadel. Within the citadel, there is an impressive memorial dedicated to 218 members of the French Resistance who were executed by the Nazis during the Second World War. The youngest victim was only 16 years old.
The war memorials in Normandy and other countries are lasting reminders of the high price paid for our freedom.
Normandy 2024, 80th anniversary of D-Day: The Normandy Victory Museum was opened in 2017. This huge museum is located in Carentan-les-Marais and tells the story of the German occupation and the Battle of the Hedges. Inside this outstanding museum, there are twenty-seven dioramas, as well as a collection of more than 15,000 authentic World War II objects. In front of the museum are a number of original WWII Jeeps.
