Normandy
At 0016 hours on D-Day, gliders containing Company D, 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, commanded by Major John Howard, touched down precisely on target at key bridges on the Orne River. Within 10 minutes, and with the loss of only two men, the daring attack placed both bridges in Allied hands. Howard's company became the first attackers on French soil and the first unit to achieve its objective on D-Day. I had just finished reading the book Pegasus Bridge, by Stephen Ambrose, outlining the events that took place surrounding the capture of this bridge, so I was very interested in this site.
The original bridge (pictured above), how named Pegasus Bridge after the Ox and Bucks Company, was removed from service a few years ago. It was placed just a few hundred yards from the original site. There is a new bridge over the river looks exactly this one.
Pegasus Bridge on 7 June, 1944. You can see two of the crashed gliders in the background.
This picture is of the Gondree Cafe, the first French building liberated on D-Day. The cafe is still owed by the granddaughter of the liberated owner.
Pictured here is the fishing village of Honfleur. It was a favorite haunt of impressionist Claude Monet.