On Saturday we got a little better chance to explore the Château de Vaulaville and grounds.
The building we occupied, which was the newer of the two main buildings (and has the larger footprint … I never could figure out which would have the greater square footage), was a three story structure laid out with a main central hall and two smaller wings projecting from the rear of the building. (The building to the west in the Google picture above). The three sides surrounded a stone paved courtyard in the back.
The garden behind the building was elevated about three feet from the courtyard. It appeared that the garden had once walled entirely round, but the South wall was no longer standing. The garden was now mostly lawn, but there were several trees (flowering trees, fruit trees and evergreens), some climbing rose bushes and a small vegetable garden with artichokes and other things. To the kids' week long delight there were also a trampoline and an above ground pool in the far corner of the garden.
Behind the garden was a stonewall enclosed pairs pasture that was home to two donkeys, one of whom was friendly.
During our stay, we occupied most of the central wing of the building. The south wing housed the gardener and his cats as well as several rooms now apparently used for storage. The North wing had an old stable and other rooms also now used for storage.
In our part of the building, there were four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a full kitchen, a dining room, a sitting room, a game room with a ping pong table and a basement laundry. The accommodations were pretty amazing. I will include a “Best of the Château de Vaulaville” album along with this post.
That morning we headed to the first of the D-Day sites we would visit - the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. The entry to the memorial is through a very well put together display. I found it not only educational (which I expected), but profoundly moving (which I did not necessarily expect). There were short documentary films, informational stations, and items from the invasion. Several inscriptions on various walls and monuments at the cemetery and memorial are included in the slideshow, but here is my favorite:
You can manufacture weapons and you can purchase ammunition, but you can't buy value and you can't pull heroes off an assembly line.
Sergeant John B. ElleryU.S. 1st Infantry Division
We each took our own time getting through the exhibits, but before exiting, everyone has to pass through a concrete hall and by a room containing a single rifle buried in the rocks, bayonet downward, with a helmet hanging from the butt of the rifle. In the hallway and room, the names of individual soldiers interred at the cemetery are being read one at a time.
The grounds of the cemetery overlook Omaha beach, where the greatest casualties occurred on D-Day. Having just come out of the museum onto the cliffs overlooking the beach is an emotional experience that cannot be put into words.
We made the long walk down to the beach itself and sat there for a while. The kids waded in the water.
Then we came back up and went into the cemetery itself. I found no Balsbaughs but two Mohlers in the listing, and I did locate the the grave of a PFC Aaron Mohler from Pennsylvania, who died June 24th, 1944.
We returned back to the Chateau and spent a leisurely afternoon. The kids played in the pool. The first of many such wonderful leisurely afternoons in Tour-en-Bessin. Then in the evening, Jen, the kids and I headed into Bayeux for the Fête Nationale fireworks. (It is the equivalent to our Independence Day only on the 14th of July. Pretty impressive fireworks and I had brought my tripod so I got some of the nicer fireworks shots I have ever gotten.
Day 17 Reflection
I am very proud to be a citizen of the United States. I respect our form of government, our constitution and our heritage. Though I do not think we are a perfect nation, on balance I think we have done more good in the world than ill and continue so to do. There are aspects of American life and thought that appall me, but there are aspects that I find delightful. I think our politicians are mostly dignified, responsible men and women doing the best they can by the light available to them, even though I disagree with some of them profoundly.
That said, neither am I often filled with a flag waving patriotism. I find the line between patriotic idealism and fundamentalist propaganda gray at best so I try to stay short of that line.
So this was an interesting experience for me, but I believe it was fundamentally different from any political concerns or agenda. What moved me so much at Normandy was the human sacrifice for a higher ideal. Imperfect, yes, but it was genuine sacrifice nonetheless, for the cause of freedom.
Marie, the woman who owns the Château with her husband and operates the rental property, is the daughter of a French resistance fighter who was liberated from a concentration camp (her mother) and a French pilot who defected to England and flew for the RAF on bombing missions over his own country. She is deeply, personally grateful for the American sacrifice and for liberation.
We ought not forget or fail to be both proud of and humbled by the fact that as Americans we helped saved the civilized world and that some of us, now buried thousands of miles from home, did so at the cost of their lives.
Click below to watch the slideshow or double click for more options. If you cannot navigate the slideshow, click here to go directly to the album.
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