TOUR #3 Omaha / Band of Brothers – Full Day Tour

Here we will see many WN’s - (wiederstandnest- meaning German weapons strong point emplacements) from Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes to Vierville. We will visit some of these strong points, which were the better-defended German Positions along Omaha. We will stop at WN 62 and WN 65 in Fox Green and Easy Red sectors of the American landing, and WN 73 in Dog Green at Vierville. This beach assault was a difficult assignment, given to US V Corps (General Gerow) whose Force O was made up of the 1st Infantry Division, 29th Infantry Division, the Rangers and several attached Units.

This Cemetery, extends over 172.5 acres, and is one of fourteen permanent American World War II cemeteries constructed on foreign soil. It contains the remains of 9387 servicemen and women killed for our freedom. The American Cemetery of Colleville conveys an unforgettable feeling of honor, peace and serenity.

Located on a cliff 8 miles west of the Cemetery, this monument was created by France to honour elements of the 2nd Rangers Battalion under the command of LTC James E. RUDDER which scaled the 100-foot cliff. Admiral Hall’s Intelligence officer remarked: "It can’t be done. Three old women with brooms could stop the Rangers scaling that cliff!". RUDDER replied to General BRADLEY: “Sir, my Rangers can do the job for you".

Lunch is not included in our fee.

Sainte Mere Eglise is one of the most memorable places depicted in the famous movie: The Longest Day. This tour will show you the famous church tower upon which the American paratrooper John Steele landed and became entangled as he parachuted into Normandy on June 6th. An actual mannequin of Steele has been hung with parachute on the church tower to commemorate his courageous jump. Although Sainte-Mere-Eglise was the area where the 82nd Airborne were schedule to jump and land, the first paratroopers who landed here were instead, members of the 101st Airborne Division. Several groups of the 101st Division, landed here, miles away from their Drop Zone, and instead, mistakenly landed on top of this village. "Easy Company", for the most part was also misdropped southeast of the town with some men landing in the center of the Village. "Dog", "Easy" and "Fox" Companies belonging to 2nd Battalion 506th PIR were also to jump at around 1:00 a.m. on DZ "C", near Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. Instead, due to all of these missed drops, Sainte-Mere-Eglise was officially the first town liberated at 4:30 AM on the day of the Invasion.

On June 5, 1st Lieutenant Thomas Meehan III boarded a C-47 to parachute into Normandy. Prior to the jump however, he had just been appointed "E" Company Commander, replacing Captain Sobel. Meehan was in plane 66, along with the Company's staff comprised of 16 paratroopers. His plane crashed in a field at Beuzeville-Au-Plain. A tour of the site of this crash will enable you to see the monument erected in memory of Lt. Meehan, but also the field where the crash actually occurred. This is the place where many of the 82nd Airborne were located under orders of General Gavin to resist the counter attacking Germans and guard two strategic bridges for the defence of the town of Sainte Mere Eglise.

The very first newsreel of the airborne invasion in Normandy shown in movie theatres in the United States was filmed at this particular farmhouse. Due to special permission given by the owner to our tour company, you will have the privilege of actually entering this farm, and being in the exact locations of many of the of the best known American press photographs taken during WWII at this site. Some of the photos show Stopka’ s task force displaying the first Nazi flag captured by the 101st Airborne Division. Many famous photographs in D-Day and WWII books were taken at this site. OVERLORDTOUR has obtained a very special permission to enter this farm. A Grand Island, New York native, DeGlopper was the only soldier from the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment to be awarded the Medal of Honor. He was also the only World War II soldier from the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army to receive the award for action during the Battle of Normandy campaign.

On D-Day, 6th June 1944, Easy Company of the 506th fought one of its most important battles at this location. In a field between Grand Chemin and Brecourt Manor, a ditch line (hedgerow) with trees bordered the property. Spaced at intervals along that ditch, were 4 German cannon batteries consisting of 105mm guns. The guns were zeroed in on U.S. forces landing on Utah Beach, near Exit 2. Lt. Dick Winters of Easy Company led a small group of Easy Company men to this site, and systematically took out all four guns at this site, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for this attack. He was recommended for the Medal of Honor, which was later downgraded to the DSC because there was an unofficial rule stating only 1 MOH recipient per division would be allowed. Several other of his men were also awarded medals for their actions as well. It is said that the strategic tactics employed by Lt. Winters at this particular field are now taught at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Come and discover the field where Lieutenant Winters and a group of paratroopers instinctively led the attack on these batteries without elaborate plans or briefing, saving countless American lives on Utah beach. Permission to enter is exclusively permitted only to Overlord Tours. OVERLORDTOUR has obtained a very special permission to enter this farm. Utah Beach was the furthest west of the five beaches designated for the D-Day landings in June 1944. Located at the base of the Cotentin Peninsula, it was added by General Dwight Eisenhower to the original D-Day plan to ensure the early capture of the vital port of Cherbourg, at the north of the peninsula. Eisenhower realized that the Allied advance throughout Western Europe would require vast amounts of equipment and that the only major port that could handle this in the initial stages of the war was at Cherbourg.

A very moving place! Our tour here will first allow you to enter a 12th/13th Century church where two medics of the 506th, Bob Wright and Kenneth Moore took care of 80 German and American wounded for over 72 consecutive hours following the initial hours of the jump into Normandy. Wright and Moore were honored by the residents of this small village by a Memorial, which you will see, and a recently installed stained glass window in this famous church in commemoration of their life saving efforts. You will enter into the courtyard of the farm where the colonel Sink, Commander of the 506th PIR, established his second CP. The "Easy Company" stayed here from June 7 to the attack of Carentan.

Our tour progresses next to the DZ "D". This was the area where Colonel Johnson of the 501st landed. From here, he launched the attack onto the lock of La Barquette. Not unlike some of the other men, the Captain had sustained an injury to one of his ankles. Here, slightly on outskirts of a designated drop zone, he quickly mobilized what men he could, and transformed a small farm house here, belonging to Monsieur Auguste Lay, into a critical aid station for the wounded. As you can imagine, the farmhouse was quickly filled with wounded men in need of the Captain’s help, and the life saving measures of those that attempted to assist him. Unbelievably though, while there attending to the wounded here, the Captain and others discovered that the aid station was located literally on top of a nearby German battery, disguised in total cammoflage along a nearby road, and manned by as many as 60 German soldiers, and four 105mm cannons, who were unaware of their presence while busy firing countermeasures to the attack! COME WITH US while we walk you through this site to relive-rediscover the courageous actions of the Captain and his small group of American Paratroopers, who singlehandedly stole this position

In the first days of June 1944, Carentan was a key position between the two American landing beaches of Utah and Omaha The Germans launched only local attacks, or they entrenched in their strong points. On 9 June, the Americans made little progress in front of Carentan, which was naturally protected by the river Douve in the west and the river Vire in the east. They encountered difficulty against a crack German unit, the paratroopers of the 6th Para Regiment, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel von der Heydte, and an eastern volunteers unit. On 11 June, the Americans launched several attacks both from the north and the south. On 12 June, after heavy shelling of the town, the paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division renewed the assault simultaneously on three axis. They drove the Germans out of Carentan, and ended up clearing the city in the evening.