Hatfield-Hankins European Adventure 2015: Day of all Days 04-21-2015

We were having dinner last night and sitting next to us was a young couple from the Netherlands. They were very friendly. The young lady struck up a conversation with Mr. Hankins. She asked if we were from America. We told her we were and were here to visit the Omaha and Utah Beaches. She thanked Mr. Hankins for his service and she was very impressed by what the Americans had done.

You can read all the books you want about D-Day, you can watch all the movies about D-Day, but you cannot appreciate what happened here unless you walk the ground. We had an excellent guide, Dale Booth, who walked us through the landings, step by step. We all left these presentations with a new found respect and admiration for America's military who assaulted those beaches in the face of almost certain death.

We visited the sites of the German strong points, we saw the way the Germans set up their murderous crossfire of the incoming troop vessels. We have a better understanding of what our guys faced.

Stops today were Omaha Beach, Point du Hoc, The American Cemetery at Omaha and the German Cemetery at La Cambe. Dale's presentation was from the U.S. perspective and also the German perspective. Our side, their side. If you visit the invasion beaches I recommend you secure the services of Dale Booth.
This writing, these picture cannot and do not present the magnitude of this endeavor.