Michael Swartz
OMAHA BEACH
6/16/1944 - 9/14/2023
My first Storied Stuff posting was in September, 2020. It was about my father and his experiences in WWII. My father was a surgeon, and his medical unit (the 45th Evacuation Hospital) landed on Omaha Beach on June 16, 1944 - 10 days after D-Day. Until the day he died, he never spoke a word about his experiences there. After much searching, I eventually learned when and where he had been. I resolved to follow in his footsteps the next year - in 2021 - but COVID reared its ugly head and caused us to postpone the trip until this summer.
This year it was time to go. There would be no more excuses, deferrals or postponements. My back had been killing me, the result of two herniated discs that did not respond to a series of epidural injections. Along with our friends Helene and Kerry Kohn, Penny and I had previously booked a river cruise on the Danube aboard the Viking Var. I was determined to add a Normandy visit to the front end of the trip. If my back continued to deteriorate, so be it. I was going to Normandy. It was simple - I had to. I hired two guides and sent them copies of the book about the 45th Evacuation Hospital - my father’s unit. The plan was to see the main sites along the beaches, then follow my father’s footsteps as far as Saint Lo.
We landed in Paris on the morning of September 13, 2023 and drove to Bayeux. The next morning we met our guide - Christophe - and embarked on our tour of Normandy. I knew that the trip would be emotional for me - I just didn’t comprehend how much I would be moved. I had done extensive reading about the war in Europe, paying particular attention to the planning and implementation of the D-Day invasion. Penny and I had watched The Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan in order to be able to add more of a visual experience to contextualize our trip..
We began the day in Ste Mere Eglise. We remembered how the town had been immortalized in The Longest Day - even to the scene of Red Buttons (as paratrooper John Steele) getting caught on the church steeple. From there, Christophe took us to Utah Beach and Pointe du Hoc. The fact that the Rangers successfully scaled the imposing cliff at Pointe du Hoc is a testament to their courage, training and ingenuity. We needed to get to the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer by 4:30 to see the flag lowering ceremony. It was an incredibly moving experience to look out on the sea of crosses (with an occasional Star of David) while Taps was being played.
Our final stop that day was Omaha Beach. That was why I was there. I could barely walk because of my back, but I made my way onto the beach. Omaha Beach! That was the culmination of years of searching, planning and studying. At that point I was singularly unaware of Penny, the Kohns and our guide. I just stood there and wept, completely absorbed in thoughts of my father and his journey 79 years before.
There was just one remaining goal to accomplish. A friend in the desert had encouraged me to bring a plastic bag and scoop up a sample of sand from Omaha Beach to bring home with me. It was a fabulous suggestion, and the sand now sits proudly on my desk where I can look at it and think back on my journey in search of my father.