Our Blog - Normandy 2023 - Sainte-Mère-Eglise, France

Founded in the 11th century, the town was involved in the both the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of Religion. However, it is probably best known for its part in the World War II Normandy landings. In the early morning of 6 June 1944, mixed units of the US 82nd Airborne and US 101st Airborne Divisions occupied the town in Mission Boston, making it one of the first towns liberated in the invasion. There is an interesting incident (which you will see on the 2nd picture of the church). The parachute of one of the paratroopers from the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment got caught on the spire of the town church. He hung there for 2 hours, pretending to be dead. Playing dead didn't help him much, as he was taken prison by the Germans when they cut him down. This is actually seen in the movie "The Longest Day", with the paratrooper played by Red Buttons. Interestingly enough, the paratroopers were dropped IN ERROR due to a house fire caused by a stray incendiary bomb. An interesting bit of trivia: due to the wet climate here, the parachute, uniform, and equipment are changed twice a year (although the town is working on adding a line in the budget for a protective paint so that they don't have to change it quite as often).

The church dates back to 12th century following the Romanesque style of the period, with Gothic arches and the balustrade of the bell tower added in the 15th century.

Inside, you can see the Romanesque arches on the side but the Gothic vaults of the ceiling. I have a couple pictures of one of the side altars and the main altar.

There are 2 modern stained-glass windows that commemorate the events of June 6th, 1944. This one specifically has Saint Michael and is for the 25th anniversary. The emblem of the 82nd Airborne (The AA) is in the upper-left while the emblem of the 505th Airborne (the one with READY) is on the upper-right. Then in the middle left and right are the dates 6 June 1944 and 6 June 1969. The bottom has inscriptions to commemorate the memory of those who, through their sacrifice, liberated the town. Then "Ils sont revenus" and the translation "They have come back".

Another memorial in remembrance of the paratroopers from the US, Great Britain, Canada, and Free France.

And I thought this was just cute ...there were 2 of these motorcycles with sidecars in a large group that had come over from the UK.

While we didn't go in, there is a large Airborne museum here with several buildings. There is a building with the only copy of a WACO glider (More than 500 gliders were deployed on Norman soil on D-Day and the following days. They carried on vehicles, ammunitions and other equipments), one with a C47, and lots of information about the role of American paratroopers in the Battle of Normandy.