Blog #6- Point du Hoc

This past spring break, I had the privilege to travel with ITS to Europe. Overall, this was one of my favorite spring breaks I have ever had. Perhaps one of  my favorite experiences of this trip would have to be seeing the beaches of the D-Day invasion. It was inspiring to see how  how Canada was able to conquer such a landscape. Definitely a defining moment for Canada. In particular, I found the American beaches (Utah and Omaha) especially interesting. Our guide which we had took us through the American cemetery and offered unbelievable facts. The 9,000 headstones seemed to go on forever and was almost overwhelming. Afterwards we then took the bus to Point du Hoc which was by far the most interesting part even though it was pouring rain and windy. Apparently, a few hours prior to the D-Day invasion, the American Rangers were sent to one of the beaches with a large protruding bluff. Their task? To scale the daunting 100 foot cliff and take out the huge German artillery which could destroy the large majority of the D-Day landing crafts which were scheduled to land in the following hours. So, in the early morning the rangers landed on the beaches and shot rocket-propelled grappling hooks into the cliff and began their accent up rope ladders which were attached to the hooks. The Germans were not expecting this and were overwhelmed when one hundred American soldiers jumped over the edge of the cliff causing them to retreat and hide inside the case mates. The Americans were told to radio the bomb squad which had orders to bomb the tank if the Rangers attempt had been unsuccessful. To their surprise, the radios no longer worked as they had became waterlogged. In a frantic attempt to warn the bombers not to attack, they took an American flag and hung it off the side of the cliff. What was most shocking to me was that not only did these soldiers climb up a 100 foot cliff on a rope ladder but they successfully took out the heavy German artillery and their signal actually worked. I had no idea that the Rangers played such an large role in making the D-Day invasions a success. Standing on top of Point du Hoc was one of the most memorable moments and for sure one of my favorite experiences this past spring break. 

Taken by Rachel McDougall