mans pushed back from the cliffs where
they were machine-gunning and shelling
the beach. He sought protection behind the
structure.
"There are only two concrete blocks on
Omaha Beach," said Guillaume, motioning
to them. "I brought him here, and he stood
next them and started to cry."
Not all the returning veterans are Allies.
Franz Gockel was 19 and manned a machine
gun on top of the cliff above Omaha Beach
that day. Only two German soldiers from
the hill survived the day. He first came back
for the ceremonies several years ago. He
spoke little English but when an American
soldier met him and pointed to the beach
and said, 'I was down there," Gockel pointed
to the cliff. "I was up there," he said.
Three hours later, when the ceremonies
were over, they headed together to a local
bar where they spent the rest of the day
getting drunk together. Gockel continued
to return until his death in 2005.
We stop for lunch in Sainte-Mere-Eglise,
the village made famous in the movie The
Longest Day, where a house happened to
