Normandy 2024, 80 years after D-Day: Each year, there are commemorations of D-Day, but every five year, there are nummerous ceremonies across Normandy to pay tribute to the soldiers who fought here in 1944. Members of the Dutch WWII military vehicles 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 the WWII vehicles were accommodated on a well equipped camping site. On the second day 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 in Normandy during WWII and the beginning of the liberation of nazi-Germany 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, such as the Maisy Battery and the Fortifications of Vauban at Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, during WWII, the centuries-old fortifications were integrated into the Atlantic Wall. The Normandy Victory Museum was opened in 2017 and is worth a visit, the museum belongs to the major museums in Normandy. We also paid a visit to the British Normandy Memorial, this imposing monument was opened in 2021. On the 4th of June, a static show of WWII military vehicles was held on our camping site for the school children of Lantheuil, organised by the members of Keep Them Rolling. During sunset on the 6th of June, an impressive commemoration took place on Juno Beach, in front of the famous Canada House in Bernières-sur-Mer. On the 8th of June, members of the Keep Them Rolling laid a floral wreath at the Memorial, a Sherman DD Tank, in Courseulles-sur-Mer. We went also to Bayeux to visit the world famous Bayeux Tapestry, a 70 metres long medieval embroidery. After a week full of celebrations, we went to Brittany to visit the Standing Stones in Carnac. On our way home, we stopped at the city of Arras to visit the citadel. In the citadel there is a impressive memorial dedicated to 218 members of the French Resistance who were executed by the Nazis in WWII.
Normandy 2024, 80th anniversary of D-Day: The Normandy Victory Museum was opened in 2017, it is located in Carentan-les-Marais and tells the story of the German occupation and the Battle of the Hedges. Inside the museum there are twenty-seven dioramas, a collection of more than 15,000 authentic WWII objects. In front of the museum, a number of original WWII Jeeps.
