St Mere Eglise

 This location - made famous by the movie The Longest Day, was a little north east of where dad was.

Had to stop here as it is very iconic. If I remember correctly, the son of the then mayor visited the bay area in the late 60s and I think my dad talked to him.

St Mere Eglise (I think it mean Saint Mary's church) was the first town in Normandy to be liberated. 

First view of the town center

At the time of the landing, there was a fire in one of the buildings straight ahead.

The view in the opposite direction

The monument paid tribute to the airborne of all nations, even though only the two American divisions (82nd & 101st) landed here.

The iconic church in the town square. 

One trooper got caught in the spire (Red Buttons in the movie), if you look close you can see a parachute hanging there, they keep as a monument. They normally have a trooper mannequin, but he was getting his annual cleaning (I imagine the local birds would be rude)

Our guide told us he really landed on the backside off the church. In the movie they put him on the front side because a building was on fire during the fight, so the lighting was better for the shot. Another trooper was also caught (but not as high up) and a third - a sergeant, landed nearby. The sergeant was mortally wounded by a German soldier. When the latter took aim at the second trooper caught on the roof, the sergeant killed him with his last breath, saving the fellow trooper's life.

The church has commemorated their liberation by the airborne by including troopers in their stained glass windows.

Inside of the church

And I have to include this photo. The name of the hair salon is just too clever (especially, as my older brother points out, that French doesn't pronounce the initial "H")