France June 2016 - Pointe Du Hoc, Normandy
Just west of Omaha Beach is Pointe Du Hoc.  It is not a beach, but an area overlooking a steep 90 foot cliff.  The Germans had built five covered gun bunkers here, each with a big 155mm gun, capable of reading Omaha and Utah beaches, along with an observation bunker.  The Allies bombed Pointe Du Hoc with heavy bombers, then on D-Day the battleship U.S.S. Texas shelled it with 14-inch guns.  Finally at 0630 on D-Day, a U.S. Army Ranger assault group landed at the base of the cliffs and assaulted it.
   
President Ronald Reagan gave a memorable speech here on the 40th anniversary of D-Day.  This is some of what he said.
   
The scene on June 6, 1984
   
It's hard to imagine being a Ranger and having to scale these vertical cliffs while under fire.
   
A neat aerial picture of Pointe Du Hoc being bombed by B-26 bombers.
   
Looking over the side of the cliff at the tip of Pointe du Hoc.
   
Looking east.
   
Lynnette stands outside a very well-protected observation bunker used to spot for the guns.
   
 
   
Looking at the rear of the observation bunker.  The American Monument is on top of the bunker.
   
 
   
 
   
Looking over the cliff down at the ocean.  I was struck by the beauty of the place, and how clear the water was.  You would never have known a wild battle had been fought here.
   
On the flat ground above the cliffs it was a different story.  The place was severely cratered from the aerial bombing.  But the gun bunkers -- two pictured here -- were not too damaged by the bombing.
   
 
   
 
   
Approaching one of the gun bunkers.
   
Another well protected bunker.
   

One of the gun bunkers.  As everybody probably knows, the Rangers scaled the cliffs under fire, fought to secure the area on top, only to discover that the big 155mm guns were gone!   But what you might not know is that within two and a half hours of landing, the Rangers had discovered the missing guns a little over a half mile away, along with their ammo, and destroyed them.  Mission accomplished!
   
 
   
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