D-Day Sainte Mère Eglise - Small group from Caen aboard a Van

Theater of one of the greatest exploits in military history, Sainte-Mère-Eglise saw paratroopers “rain” on the village and its surroundings during the night of June 5 to 6, 1944. A model hangs on the church of Sainte-Mère-Église in tribute to John Steele. The stained glass windows inside the church evoke the jumps of paratroopers on D-Day in Normandy. A free time across the town (meals not included) will let you go shopping in the many souvenir shops.

In the heart of Sainte-Mère-Eglise, opposite the steeple on which the paratrooper John Steele hung, the Airborne Museum will make you live and understand the events of D-Day from the preparation in England until the conquest of freedom. Board a glider and C-47 aircraft with sound and light effects for total immersion. You will also accompany the soldiers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Division in the decisive battles of the D-Day landings in Normandy thanks to the hyperrealistic scenery.

This memorial is dedicated to the memory of the soldiers of the American airborne troops. One of the essential missions of the 82nd American Airborne Division was to take bridges over the Merderet River, west of Sainte-Mère-Église. Many soldiers were killed in these areas during the parachuting or during the ensuing fighting for control of the bridge and roadway that gives access to the opposite shore. Parachute Memorial Inside the park is the statue of the American soldier Iron Mike, replica of the one located in Fort Bragg (military training base) in the state of North Carolina in the United States and an orientation table retracing the facts.

"The Braves" is a sculpture in tribute to the Allies that landed on Omaha Beach. The sculpture is set up on the beach (Omaha Beach at "Easy green sector"). The sculpture pays tribute to the Navy and Sailors and it's shapes depict sails, waves and the bow of a ship.

The guide is now taking you to visit the beautiful maintained American Cemetery in Colleville sur Mer which overlooks Omaha Beach nearby. The 180 acre site contains 9,387 perfectly aligned white crosses and a memorial chapel which adds the finishing touches to this moving scene, allowing visitors to reflect on the price of war. While walking along row upon row of white grave headstones, your historian guide will share with you stories of soldiers who fought in the vicinities and then were awarded for gallantry the highest military decorations. The memorial consists of a semicircular colonnade with a loggia at each end containing large maps and narratives of the military operations; at the center is the bronze statue, “Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves.” An orientation table overlooking the beach depicts the landings in Normandy.