Normandy Jeep Tour #12 – Specialized Tours

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".

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.

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.

Today, St. Marie du Mont appears to be a typical Norman village. Here, Marshall Erwin Rommel, who was in charge of the Atlantic defenses, inspected them several times between January and May 1944. While evaluating and inspecting the German defenses, Rommel stayed in a 17th century manor situated at the Western entrance of the village. The gothic bell tower was a key reference point for the 101st Airborne General Maxwell Taylor who landed in the early hours of the Invasion spent the night regrouping misdropped soldiers.

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.