And Then There Was Normandy...

It’s just a place. A place in France.
A place that looks like any other coastal shoreline? A place where once upon a time Allied Forces renamed these shoreline beaches Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.

September 17, 2009:
It's a place where an angry ocean pounds the shore with great crashing sounds,
and...
Powerful winds fling stinging bits of beach sand into the air, forcing coolness into the fibers of tight jackets, and whipping new style into hair,
and...
Uninviting tide-covered beaches stretch as far as vision allows,
and...
Swirling clouds create a heavy gray ceiling.

Is the weather always like this in Normandy? Was it like this 65 years ago – June 6, 1944? According to historians, it was.

But, it’s NOT just “a place.”
It has been said, “You can’t look forward wisely without looking back.” I’ve looked back. I’ve seen the D-Day movies, read the history books, and listened to the stories, but seeing it for myself brought emotion that was difficult to explain. If you want a shot of patriotism, this is the place to visit.

The area is silent, except for the sounds of the sea. No advancing soldiers, no swaying ships, no gunfire – only remnants of the past. Huge German concrete pill boxes, rusted guns, and wide gaping 30 ft wide holes remain as swore-in witnesses to the events of this historic day – a day when young men with fear and courage stepped into the cold angry sea to swim, run, or climb ashore to restore freedom to the world.

Over 25,000 American soldiers lost their lives on D-Day in this place. My father was in this place. Captain Ray Watters stepped into the sea before reaching Utah Beach. He heard. He saw. He rarely spoke about this place.

Narrow winding roads along the coast took us through small French villages and farmland as we drove
to Arromanches,


to Longues-sur-Mer,

to Omaho Beach,

to Pointe du Hoc,

to Utah Beach.
We talked, pointed, and speculated as to whether or not Captain Watters had been in this exact spot. We carried the copied pages of his story referring to them often. But, they contained huge gaping holes in time and place (page 89). “It took me awhile to get back to my outfit.” How did he get back to his outfit? Where did he travel? Omaha Beach and Utah Beach are MILES apart!

Captain Watters:
“The 238th Engineer Battalion was among the very first American troops to land on foreign soil. Our job was to go in fifteen minutes before the infantry. We were so seasick we didn’t care if they did shoot us. Just get us off that boat and get it over with. We were to land on a big flat sandy area (Utah Beach). What the Germans had done was build a great big seawall six feet thick and as near as we could estimate, it was between eight and ten feet high. There were passages where machine guns were firing down on us from each side of it. In front of it they had what they call tetrahedrons. They were railroad rails welded together just like a big jack (like the jacks you play the game with). They were laying in the sand, covered up.

Fortunately, or unfortunately when my boat came in, the trapdoor went down and it went under the water. We had practiced getting rid of the sixty pounds of TNT that we had strapped on our back, so I got rid of that in a hurry.

We had been told that there would be a speedboat in the channel picking up men who were too far out to swim or walk in. I was about a hundred yards out and I was swimming like the devil trying to keep afloat. The worst danger was being hit by a propeller. The water was churning all around us. Here came the speedboat and someone on the boat was holding out a big shepherd’s crook. We were supposed to hold our arms above our head and he would pick us up. I held my arms up like I had been told, and he missed me. Well, I thought I was a goner. He went about thirty yards away and a huge projectile hit the water in front of the boat causing it to turn right around. It came right back toward me, and this time he picked me up. He dumped me on Omaha Beach and I was supposed to be on Utah Beach.

It took me awhile to get back to my outfit. There was so much confusion. You can’t imagine.”

In reality, it took Captain Watters 24 hours to return to his outfit’s designated meeting place – Saint-Mere-Eglise (3 miles inland).

What happened during those 24 hours? No one will ever know for sure, but somehow Captain Watters hitched a ride (probably on a boat, according to Mom) and returned to his outfit just as they were filling out a MIA report.

(If you’d like to read more about Captain Watters and D-Day, Google “Captain Ray Watters.” Click on Battle Bridges – Google Books result. Begin reading on page 37. The author, John B. Wong, was Captain Watters’ companion and friend in the 238th.)

The American Cemetery above Omaha Beach was solemn and impressive. As I looked about, I couldn’t help but recall the closing scene from Saving Private Ryan when Private Ryan (Matt Daman) said, “Tell me I was a good man.”

Dad, it’s easy for me to tell you that you were a good man. You lived through this D-Day experience and the horrors of war and came home to touch the lives of hundreds of students, hundreds of athletes, hundreds of church members, hundreds of neighbors and friends. But, most of all, you shared your life with your wife, 4 children (and their spouses), and 16 grandchildren. They knew you best. More importantly, you continue to be an example to those you did not know on this earth – spouses of your grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren (and counting). We’ll make sure your legacy, as well as Mom’s, lives on.


At Utah Beach we searched for the
238th bronze memorial plaque that was supposed to have been cemented somewhere on the beach in 1997.

Inside of the museum, which was practically built on the beach, we explained to the attendant that our father was an American soldier landing in Normandy on D-Day. We asked if he knew where the Combat Engineer plague might be located. After much thought, he left and went inside the museum. A few minutes later he returned and said, “Follow me.” Obviously pleased with himself, he went up the museum stairs, pointed at the plaque and said, “Stay and enjoy your visit to our museum.”

I loved everything about our trip to France, but above all, I loved seeing Normandy ("this place") where Captain Watters spent a little over 24 hours of his life – the beginning of 14 months in Europe.