Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Museum diplorama

There are wonderful museums at St. Mere Eglise and Omaha beach with all kinds of displays and artifacts of the famous invasion at Normandy.

Most of the WW2 veterans are passing on but there are many who still visit each year and relive their incredible experiences, ones that had such a vivid and formative impact on their lives. War is a terrible experience and something certainly to be avoided, but it also brings a maturity to young men and leaves powerful recollections on the veterans who survive the experience. This seems to be true of soldiers of all armies where the memories of being called to arms are unforgettable. We asked if the German veterans ever return to visit the beaches and sub-pens. The answer was an emphatic “Yes.”

My wife told me, after returning from my first tour as an infantryman in Vietnam, that I came back a better person than when I left. She said I returned more mature and appreciative of some of the simple things in life I had here-to-for taken for granted. (Like a warm dry bed and hot home cooked meals… and not having to live under the constant specter of being maimed or killed.)

While inside the museum there was a violent thunder storm which created a parallel ambience. The manikins of the soldiers and the displays combining with the weather, did something to make the experience almost surreal.

The collection of memorabilia is extensive and the US Army and Airborne Museums at Ft Bragg and other sources have provided a vast array, not just of weapons, boats and planes, but also of the everyday rations, radios, wet weather gear, diaries, maps and photographs.

It was well worth visiting and the tour guides, both at the museum at St. Mere Eglise and Omaha Beach, were as informative as they were enthusiastic.