" Omaha Beach tells itself": a visit of history and testimonies

For the sixtieth anniversary of the Landing, the Bessin Tourist Reception Country offered special editions of "Mon village se raconte", giving the floor to witnesses of the events. A visit organized on a Saturday afternoon concerned the three municipalities of Omaha Beach: Vierville-sur-Mer, Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer and Colleville-sur-Mer.

About fifty people had first found themselves in the parking lot of the church of Vierville. The mayor, Jean-Marie Oxéant, presented the village during the German Occupation and the first hours of the Liberation. He recalled the significant damage suffered by his heritage during the bombings of June 6 and 7, 1944. Several testimonies accompanied the stages in the village.

The group then went to Saint-Laurent, near the Monument Signal, where Mayor Raymond Mouquet continued the explanations. The visit ended in Colleville with its mayor, Patrick Thomines. The article highlighted the emotion aroused by this collective reading of history.

Reconstructed or uncertain passages:
- The sixtieth anniversary places the visit in 2004, also mentioned in the name of the file. The fragment does not give the exact day of the visit or the full date of publication.

Archive image: https://vierville.cordelle.eu/Photos2008/2004VillaSeRaconte-Ete2004.jpg