| BATTLEFIELD
TOURS
In Flanders
Field In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe; To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. There are many
tours to the battlegrounds of Europe, The ITT offices and USO in
Ramstein, Frankfurt (Rhein
Main), Rota, Naples, and ITT
Aviano offer tours on a frequent
basis. Europe has been the major battleground for the two major
conflicts of the the 20th century, WWI and WWII. As a point of
reference, in WWI over 3 million soldiers lost their lives in Flanders
Fields, Belgium from 1914 to 1917. View the following site for
information This year is the
60th anniversary of the
Battle of the Bulge. There are commemorative
events scheduled in June 2004. . D Day was 60
years ago today,
June 6th, 1944.
The obvious
tours are to the D-Day beaches like Normandy, or the World War II site
of
Bastogne. Check with the Ramstein ITT office for a tour to Bastogne.
While
those D-Day beaches and battlefields are a great stop for any American
remembering
WWII, the best Battle of Normandy museum in the area is Le Memorial in
Caen,
about 150 miles northwest of Paris. To truly understand the
significance of
the D Day read the following: Lessons
From Normandy, An Article by Ken Arnold The museums begin the story of World War II by tracing its roots, all the way to 1918 and the slow failure of peace to take hold in Europe after World War I. Interactive audio and video displays, interspersed with actual artifacts like tanks, jeeps and weapons, describe the buildup toward the second world war and France's descent into invasion, occupation and resistance. Actual footage of
the D-Day landing is
interspersed with scenes from fictional films for a dramatic retelling
of the events from both the German and the Allied perspectives. The
70-day Battle of Normandy is retold in a similar interactive manner.
Galleries that follow look at the rebuilding of Europe and of hopes for
peace through such events as the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin
Wall. The grand finale is the Nobel Peace Prize gallery, celebrating
the courageous work of leaders who understand that
peace is more than simply the absence of war. View some great
black and white photos view the
following site:: For detailed
information on the Normandy
battlefields view the following site:: For other battlefield tours view the following:: Mildenhall Battlefield Tours|Battle of Sommes Tour|.Ramstein Verdun Tour| |