Normandy Beachhead, May 2019 – With Homage to Ernie Pyle
Keith Nightingale
The beach today is broad, clean and filled with the life that Liberty bestowed 75 years ago. As I walk, I reflect on what I read and what I heard from those that were here on that day of days. An obscure and unremarkable beach stretches in a long light umber crescent. It is bisected by several draws that allow penetration up the steep cliffside-now occupied by vacation homes and gardens. Regardless, the sheer physical aspects of what was the scene then are easy to image now despite the dust of time.
As I walk the sand and dim my eyes, weaving into the filing cabinets of my mind, some images emerge that meld the past events with the present place.
Today is a lovely day for strolling along the seashore. Men are sleeping on the sand, some of them sleeping forever. Men are floating in the water, but they didn’t know that as they are beyond introspection or enjoyment.
https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/normandy-beachhead-may-2019-homage-ernie-pyle
