John’s World War II Adventures in Normandy! Day 1
July 7, 2014 by crew
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I’m so excited to watch this! Going to Normandy would be so much fun! Thanks for taking us along!
Great Stuff Johno!
You really made me want to go to normandy… but I’ve watched the vid now… so don’t need to 😉
So jealous. Super vid and look forward to more.
Great, Normally I don’t enjoy holiday videos, but this is special!
Awesome stuff, looking forward to the rest!
Aha! The same response to the Merville Battery museum as me!
Been looking forward to this since it was announced on the Weekender a few weeks ago. Real eye opener.
Was the Bagpipe music being played in the bunker or was that a sound file added by BoW?
The German War Cemetery is a real eye-opener as well. The American one at Omaha is really famous, obviously with Saving Private Ryan and other movies, but it can be hard to forget that the Germans have their own cemeteries as well.
Really good Blog. Looking forward to part 2.
Going to Normandy myself in 28 days and counting . . . 🙂 I can’t wait! This actually pretty helpful since it preents the area through a historical and gamer’s eye. 🙂
So jealous m8 I need to go now
Very impressive, and amazing. Thru the last scene the hairs on my neck stood straight up and my eyes watered. The grandfather of a dear friend of mine served in the 716th infantry division, which was – among other objectives – obliged with defending the Merville Battery and Pegasus Bridge. He died on DDay, where exactly is unknown. But to think about it might just be where you walked and that he probably is burried in La Cambe cemetary makes me shudder. I know his grandfather – and for that matter both of mine too – were fighting for the… Read more »
Very good video, thank you, John. I’ll go probably there myself one day.
I found your part about the war cemetery quite touching – Even though we all love massive tanks and gun emplacements, it’s sometimes good to remember that war has a very un-hobbyish, sad side to it.
John definitely hits it in the head when he characterizes a trip to the cemeteries as “required.”
Thanks john for sharing your experience..
Speachless.
Great video John, I went to Normandy last year for my 40th and I took my 12 year son at the time. Seeing your video has brought back a lot of memories. I look forward to seeing the rest of your diary.
A place to visit is The Hillman Strongpoint at Colleville-Montgomery, I stumbled on this on our last day. Well worth seeing the German Artillery command post.
I went to Normandy with the Royal Air Force for the 50th anniversary. What a place!!! Went up the Calne canal past Pegasus bridge and they actually did a parachute drop with some of the actual soldiers who took part in the original para drop although they were in tandem with their modern day counterparts. Stayed mainly in the Bayeaux area huge cemetery there and an excellent museum. I was in my uniform and stood still in the museum and kids were coming up to me and prodding me until I went Boo lol so friggin funny.
Amazing, words fail me. Thank you so much for showing it.
Truly amazing. When you see it close up it brings it really brings it home. No Gps for those guys they were real brave lads just getting there let alone what they went through after they landed.
Great vid! I know how you feel about the age thing, with you visiting when you were 6. I moved to Berlin, RAF Gatow specifically, in september 1989. 3 weeks before the wall came down. Me and my friends used to go and play on the golf course in the woods, we’d find pill boxes dotted around everywhere, graffiti inside, swaztikas etc, and in the Sergeants Mess, the giant carved wooden eagle standing on the back wall that I thought was awesome but had no understanding of what it represented. Living on the former Luftwaffe training base in Berlin was… Read more »
I’ve been a couple of times, it’s a very emotive area, my uncle was killed near Colombelles on the outskirts of Caen, he was in 51st Highland Div, Black Watch. The British cemetery at Bayeux is huge, it’s very impressive to see how well tended their resting places are kept. You can only appreciate the scale of this epic operation by visiting Normandy. I’ve always found the local people very friendly too. Well worth a visit for anyone interested in History, the wine and food ain’t too bad either!
Great vid.
Some great info and footage John, many thanks for sharing mate ;0)
Thank you John, what can I say but Wicked Awesome Man. thank you again.
Thanks for the Video John, was very enlightening to see those area’s, as I am unlikely to get the opportunity to go there myself, living on the other side of the world. I hope to video blog walking the Kokoda trail one day. My family has a bit of history from both world wars so it was special to me see those areas, not from a “professional” glitzy production, but from a “everyday” personal perspective, with real feeling. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
Nice job John, looking forward to more, thanks.
So powerful, well done.