NI Day 11: Remembrance

Everything we had been working toward since being accepted into this program was wrapped up in today's activity.  We boarded the bus and drove to the American Cemetery at Collelvile-ser-Mer where over 9000 bodies of American soldiers who lost their lives in the Normandy invasion are buried.  An additional 1000 plus names are engraved on the wall of the missing.

We first participated in a wreath laying ceremony, which included the National Anthem and Taps.  As someone who tears up at the National Anthem during ball games, I was afraid I was going to be a wreck.  Watching people stop all over the cemetery for the anthem choked me up and gave me chills at the same time.  We then began reading our tributes to our heroes.

At each grave, the student would rub sand from Omaha beach on the stone to make the letters stand out.  They then placed a French and an American flag in the ground.  They read their eulogies, their recounting of the hero's life and service and a tribute to each man.  They laid a rose at the grave when they were finished.  I noticed later that people were stopping and looking at Eston's grave.  Maybe because it was highlighted with the sand.  Today, our heroes were not silent and not forgotten.

After the program, we all revisited our soldiers grave.  I sat on the wall overlooking the sea and ate a little snack, and then C and I visited the chapel.  I wanted to take a picture of the ceiling, because it was incredible.  It was a mosaic commemorating the landings.

I don't think typed words can express what the day, and the program meant to me.  I was humbled.  C and I were discussing how much more reverential the Normandy cemetery felt compared to Arlington, which feels more touristy.

It almost feels sac religious to continue talking about the rest of the day after that.  We boarded the bus, ate lunch, and most of us slept all the way to Paris.  We checked into our hotel, and then I went out with one other adult, C, and three other kids.  We took the Metro to the Louvre and walked around the courtyard.  We had dinner, where we all tried an escargot.  I don't dislike them because they are snails, but there is definitely a lot of garlic in the cooking of them.

We rode the big Ferris wheel outside the Louvre, then walked down the Champs de Elysses to the Arc de Triomphe.  We re boarded the Metro and went to the Eiffel Tower to catch the end of the light show.  We went to the wrong hotel, and got the kids in nearly two hours after curfew.

Today's steps 25538