Pointe du Hoc

For the 50th D-Day anniversary, this place came under

American control, or influence, finally. Previously, the

French account of the action, which we had read on

repeated visits, told of the American Rangers climbing

the cliffs on D-Day under withering machine-gun fire,

to knock out artillery batteries covering both Omaha and

Utah beaches. At the top, they discovered only telephone

 poles, disguised to look like guns. End of story. Heroic

American fools.

What actually happened, and is finally related in the

signage here, is that the Army Rangers then fought their

way a mile inland, found the suspected guns, spiked them,

and then fought their way back to the Pointe, holding off

repeated German attacks, until they were relieved two days

later. Of the 200+ men landed, 90 were still alive, although

not a single one was unwounded. Their leader, a former

Texas high school football coach named James Rudder,

went on to become president of Texas A&M.

All honor...

The cliffs at Pointe du Hoc

It's one of the few D-Day places left that not been cleared

over

Gun emplacement

More wreckage

The cliffs, from the west at Grandcamp Maisey