Why is a walk along Normandy beach an ideal way to commemorate the Normandy landing?

On a sunny spring morning in Normandy, the beach in colville-sur-mer was calm. The tall grass is swaying in the breeze, and the sun shines on the water. In the distance, a ship is lazily sliding along the English Channel.

These photos were taken a few hours after Americans heard about the Normandy landing. There is only a sign overlooking the coast on the mountain, which shows that this is not an idyllic scenery at all. Seaside resort: Omaha Beach.

Seventy years ago, it was a hell of noise, smoke and slaughter. Along about five miles of coastline, the movement demanding what General dwight eisenhower called the "Great Crusade" to liberate Western Europe from Nazi rule failed here. If the soldiers of the 1 Division and the 29th Division of the United States, with the support of engineers and rangers, did not gather on this beach and struggled through the fierce German defense, the whole invasion route might be suspected.

From "The Longest Day" to "Saving Private Ryan", from cornelius ryan to Stephen Ambrose, the horror and heroic stories of Omaha Beach are constantly told and repeated. 1June 6, 944, on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Germany and Japan, I came here to follow the footsteps of one of the earliest chroniclers: ernie pyle, a journalist of Scripps Howard's newspaper chain, who was already a celebrity at the time of the invasion. In fact, when he landed here on June 7th, Hollywood was already planning a film based on his story, which will be released in 1945, called Joe's Story, with Burgess meredith as Pyle.

The real Pyle was 43 years old on June 1944, and he was already a veteran. The coverage of the campaign activities in North Africa, Sicily and Italy by the Indiana won him the Pulitzer Prize of 1944 and won a large audience. Irving v Johnson, a professor at the School of Journalism at Indiana University, said: "He is the most popular. Johnson estimated that one in six Americans read Pyle's column and appeared four or five times a week during the war.

Perhaps most importantly, at least for the columnist himself, he won the respect of American soldiers on the front line, and their dull, dirty and sometimes even horrible lives were accurately and affectionately captured by him.

1on June 6th, 944, the allied forces landed on Normandy beach in France and attacked Nazi Germany, which was less than the first wave on Omaha beach on June 6th. Only a few journalists were with the commandos on D-Day. One of them is Pyle's colleague and friend, photographer robert capa. The photos of his survival in the battle of Omaha were marked by bees. When Pyle landed the next morning, the fighting almost stopped, but the wreckage was still burning. He decided to do this in order to convey to domestic readers what happened in this place, which was not even recognized by Omaha Beach Invasion Code, which led to some of the most influential reports he would publish. The paratroopers from a certain place in Britain won a "complete victory-nothing else" before boarding the plane to participate in the first attack on the European continent. (Library of Congress, photo of the U.S. Army) On D-Day, troops crowded on the landing craft. (Colby) The Ninth Air Force B-26 flew over one of the beaches when it landed in Normandy. American soldiers are preparing to invade Normandy beaches. American soldiers wearing helmets huddled behind the bulwark of the Coast Guard landing barge. This is a historic action, sweeping the English Channel to the Normandy coast. The first wave of allied landing craft sailed for Normandy beach on D-Day. Omaha Beach is D-Day. General gerhardt (left) and Brigadier General Edgar (right) watched the Normandy landing. American landing craft troops landed on one of the four beaches in Mandy, France. Allied soldiers crawl in front of log fortifications in Omaha beach. (Colby) Military mobilization along Normandy beach after Normandy landing. American troops waded into one of the four beaches in Normandy. (Bettmann/CORBIS) The scenery of Omaha Beach during the invasion of Normandy. When the allied forces continued to supply troops for transportation on shore, barrage balloons circled over the assembled warships. (Hulton Deutsch Collection/CORBIS) Dozens of soldiers boarded the landing craft from the deck and prepared to invade the Normandy beach in France. Troops that landed on Omaha beach. During the allied invasion of Normandy, France, the allies marched on the beach. (DPA/Kolbis) Before the captured German soldiers were taken to the ships waiting to be evacuated, the American flag marked a US military post near Omaha Beach. (Bettmann/CORBIS) American soldiers are waiting for orders to move inland in a foxhole in Utah beach to counter German fortifications. Unloading of storage tanks, vehicles and warehouses. On the second day of D-Day, General omar bradley and General Kirk sat down to talk when they landed. The wounded American and Nazi soldiers were transported from the French coast to Britain by an LCVP. 16 American assault troops of infantry regiment were injured when they attacked Omaha beach during the invasion of Normandy, waiting to be evacuated to the field hospital for further treatment by the chalk cliff. (Colby) After the Allied invasion in Normandy was defeated, Nazi prisoners of war lay in the trenches on the beach waiting for transportation through the English Channel. (Sailor's Museum /CORBIS) A communication post set up by the US Navy shortly after landing in Normandy. Americans died after landing. (Bateman/Corbis)

He just walked and wrote down what he saw. Johnson said, "If he had a camera in his head." He uses words effectively ... he makes you stare and think, just like he walks. "

I was received by Claire Lesourd, a licensed English tour guide and Normandy landing expert who has been traveling here since 1995. We traveled from east to west, about 1.5 miles. Pyle guessed that he walked along the same beach at 1944 for the same length.

What he saw that day was a coastline full of war rubbish and personal belongings of the deceased: "a long line of personal pain", as he remembered calling it at that time.

What I see is emptiness. Except for a few hikers, we walked alone on a seemingly endless beach, washed to the water by streams and sandbars. At this time of day, the water is about 600 yards lower, where American soldiers, or at least those who arrive there, find some shelter.

My initial idea was to follow Pyle alone so that I could observe and think.

But Paul Reid, the author of "D Day Walking in Britain", warned that I might waste a lot of time not fighting in places with shelters. He remembered renting a car so that I could visit as many important invasion sites as possible: in addition to Omaha, these places also included Utah Beach in the west, where the US military conducted a less bloody and more efficient operation; There is also Cape Hawke, a promontory between two beaches in the United States, where US Army Rangers climbed to defeat German artillery and observation posts.

Reid was right. As it turns out, it is unfounded that I don't want to drive around in a foreign car. In addition to driving on the same road as us, the roads in France are well maintained and the road signs are eye-catching. At least in Normandy, English is spoken everywhere. So I can really successfully navigate the whole D-Day area by myself (usually only by road signs). I visited the village of St. Mel Egris, where the American sacrifice was understandable and the cross seemed infinite.

Pyle moved with the army. He joined the frontline troops, fighting in hedgerows and ancient Norman towns, but also spent time with anti-aircraft artillery to protect the new security invasion beaches and regulations to maintain the unit. He will continue to witness the liberation of Paris. 1945 In April, Germany surrendered, exhausted journalists agreed to cover the Pacific War, and American soldiers longed for him to tell their stories. 1945 In April, Pyle was killed by a Japanese sniper on an island near Okinawa. He was buried in Lu Lu badminton, a fire slave, but it can be said that his spirit was pinned on many soldiers he wrote on D-Day. Pyle noticed something on Omaha beach at the end of his hard walk. This inspired his sad, almost poetic ending:

"The strong vortex tide along the Normandy coastline has changed the outline of the beach in and out. They carried the soldiers' bodies to the sea and later brought them back. They covered the heroes' bodies with sand and then uncovered their bodies on a whim.

When I was digging in wet sand, I bypassed some driftwood that seemed to stick out of the sand. But they are not driftwood. They are soldiers' feet. His whole body was covered except his feet; The toes of his military boots point to the land he has seen so far, and the land he has seen is very short.

I also have enough distance to see this place, although it is the privilege and fortress of 2 1 century travel. When we got back to the bus, I felt the warmth of spring and the infinite space and possibilities. Although what happened here 70 years ago was very serious, I think I can walk along this beach all day, and I have the freedom to do so. People here gave their lives for this. Ernie pyle told their story and died with them. It's hard not to be modest in front of them.

Editor's Note, 2065438+June 6, 2003: This article was edited to correct ernie pyle's death date. He died in April of 1945, not in August of that year. Thanks to Matt Kate for reminding us of this mistake.